Provincial funding secured for Highway 10 and Owen Sound Street resurfacing

Written By Paula Brown

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Shelburne's main throughway will soon be a smoother ride for drivers as the provincial government commits over $1 million in funding for a road resurfacing project. 

Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones and Shelburne Mayor Wade Mills announced on Apr. 12 that the provincial government would be providing the Town of Shelburne with $1,170,191 to help resurface Owen Sound Street and Highway 10. The funding is being delivered through the Connecting Links program. 

“There's no doubt that the road through the Town of Shelburne is being used for provincial benefits and assets, which is what you're seeing with a lot of the truck traffic,” said Jones. “By working together, we better utilize the infrastructure and the roadways that already exist.” 

The Connecting Links program provides funding for up to 90 per cent of eligible project costs. This includes a maximum of $3 million for road projects and $5 million for bridge projects. Eligible costs include the design, construction, renewal, rehabilitation, and replacement of municipal roads and bridges that run through communities and connect to provincial highways. 

“The funding partnerships, particularly in a situation like this, are critical,” said Mills. “A lot of the wear and tear that is seen particularly through our main thoroughfare is as the result of provincial vehicles traveling through whether it's trucks or people visiting areas further north. From an equitable point of view, it's key that we're getting some provincial dollars.” 

Connecting links are municipal roads that connect two ends of a provincial highway through a community or to an international or interprovincial border crossing. 

According to the province, there are a total of 352 kilometres of connecting links, with 70 bridges in 77 municipalities in Ontario. 

Shelburne Town Council budgeted for the resurfacing project in their 2023 budget, but it was conditional on receiving funding from the province. 

“Had we not received the Connecting Link funding, we probably would have done some work, but it would have been a scaled version,” said Mills. 

Construction is expected to be ongoing throughout the summer. Residents can expect delays on the road, similar to those during the resurfacing of Main Street over the last two years. 

“There is an inconvenience factor when construction happens, but at the end of the project you have a safer road,” said Jones. “That's ultimately what our collective goal is, to make sure that the roadway is maintained.”