b'INFRASTRUCTUREGravelAssociationofOntario(OSSGA).connectivitybetweencommunitiesandTheimpactthisfundingwillhaveon Building and maintaining roads is criticalalleviate growing traffic congestion. At timeOSSGAmembersdependsonanumber toOntarioseconomy.Moreextremeof print, 109 were tendered and awarded.offactors,includinghowmanyprojects weather,andcongestionfromagrowingAccording to industry sources, this fundingare slated for their market area. That said, population, needs an ongoing commitmentcommitmentmaybethestartofamorethere are concerns that the funding is not to transportation infrastructure. comprehensiveprogramtomaintainthesubstantially higher than what was provided The Ford government indicated it wantedprovinceshighways.Rehabilitationtendersfor roads in previous years. Approximately both to ensure Ontarios highways are safealready announced cover the first half of 2019,halfwillbeallocatedtoprojectsthatare and reliable and to create a transportationso there may be more to come. The OntariowithinCRHCanadasgeographicalarea, networkthatpromotestradeineverybudgettabledinAprilshowsprojectionsbuttheinvestmentisnotasignificant part of the province. A total of 123 roadtotalling $2.75 billion for provincial highwaysincreasefrompreviousyears,especially restoration projects will be initiated acrossin2019/2020.Theindustryiswaitingforgiventhedecreaseinalternativedelivery theprovincewiththeaimtoimprovemore details on the budget numbers. model projects from the MTO, notes Dan BROADER INITIATIVEIn addition to road projects announced for 2019/2020, Ontario is also involved inathree-levelinfrastructureinitia-tive with the federal government and regional/municipal governments. Ontariowillpayone-thirdof$30billionover 10years,withsimilar contributionsmade from municipal govern-mentsandthefederal government,aspartof theCanadaInfrastruc-tureProgram.Thisprogram includesfourstreams:Ruraland Northern, Public Transit, Green Proj-ectsandCommunity,Cultureand Recreation.Thislargefederalinitiativewill solicitprojectproposalsfrom municipalities.Included willbetransportation projectstoimprove roadsandbridgesin communitieswith populationsof100,000 orlessbothinsouthern and northern Ontario as well as rural areas. The first part of this program began in early April with the launch of the Public Transit stream. Eligible projects will be determined by the provincial and federalgovernmentsbasedonhealth and safety aspects, technical merit and thefundsneeded.Considerationwill also be given to joint projects. FALL 2019AVENUES 17'