County of Renfrew calling on provincial election candidates to make widening of Hwy. 17 a priority

With the election one week away, Renfrew County residents are calling on local candidates to make Highway 17 safety a priority. CTV’s Dylan Dyson reports.

The County of Renfrew is calling on local candidates in the upcoming provincial election to make the expansion of Highway 17 a priority.

Currently, the four-lane Highway 417 transitions to the two-lane Highway 17 at Campbell Drive, just west of Arnprior.

The county says it would like to see Highway 417 extended past the Town of Renfrew and for Highway 17 to be enhanced from Renfrew to Deep River.

“They didn’t tell us when they were going to start, and so they haven’t told us that consistently,” said Renfrew County Warden Peter Emon.

“Every time we’re (at Queen’s Park) we get a little more information. So, we’re at the point now where we think the community has lost patience.”

The county says the highway is continuously seeing higher volumes of traffic and collisions, and that the current setup impedes the flow of people and goods.

“The extension of Highway 417 to Renfrew is long overdue and though we have seen commitments for its completion from the province, we would like to see real results,” the County of Renfrew said in an online statement.

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With a provincial election scheduled for Feb. 27, the county has issued a call to residents to write to the candidates for Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke to make this issue a priority.

“I would say it’s a dangerous highway. Many times we’ve had to stop and get rerouted because of accidents,” said Deep River resident Sue Sage who was driving on Highway 17 to Ottawa Thursday.

“I think it’s long overdue. They would have my vote if they would fix this highway.”

Emon said the highway has been an issue he has been pursuing for over a decade now, having multiple conversations a year with the sitting government.

“I think there’s been some priorities, the premier has a few projects, and then when the premier calls, I think other things get shuffled to the side of the desk,” Emon tells CTV News Ottawa.

“I think that’s very, very important. It should be a very top priority,” said Cobden resident Jay McLaren.

“We’ve been neglected through here for years while millions are being spent elsewhere. It’s time this Trans-Canada highway was made into four lanes all the way to North Bay or Sudbury.”

The candidates running to represent Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke in the upcoming election are: Oliver Jacob (Liberal), Marshall Buchanan (NDP), Billy Denault (PC), and Kevin Holm (Ontario Party).

As of Friday morning, three parties responded to CTV Ottawa’s request for comment. Their responses are below in order of when they were received:

“The widening of Highway 17 is absolutely critical to the riding of Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke. I have had so many of my constituents reaching out to me to ensure I heard their concerns and will make this a priority should I be elected. I ABSOLUTELY will!” said Holm, Ontario Party.

“We are widening Highway 17 from two to four lanes between the Town of Renfrew and Arnprior, fighting gridlock, keeping goods moving, and allowing families to spend less time on the road and more time where it matters most. Phase 1 of this project is completed and work has begun on the next phase which will widen 22.5 kilometres of Highway 17,” said Denault, Progressive Conservative Party.

“I would indeed pursue the twinning of Highway 17 to Renfrew and beyond (and implementing safety enhancements at high risk areas) as a key priority for the Government of Ontario should I be elected as our next MPP for Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke,” said Jacob, Liberal Party candidate.

Emon says he has spoken with the candidates in the riding of Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke, all of whom promised their support behind the project.

“It’s a toss-up between the Liberals and Conservatives about who would make it the most priority,” he said. “And speaking with the Liberals over the years are very interested in it.”