PARRY SOUND - Construction to finish four-laning of Highway 69 from here to Sudbury is behind schedule.
After the section around Nobel opened in the fall of 2010, the project remains on paper only, awaiting federal environmental approval for the remaining 102 kilometres between Nobel and Sudbury, according to the Ministry of Transportation.
The province announced plans in 2005 to four-lane the152 kilometres of Highway 69 between Parry Sound to Sudbury over 12 years.
According to a 2005 Highway 69 Action Plan document, construction on the section of highway where the fatal accidents occurred on January 3 was scheduled to start in 2010.
The entire portion of the project, from Highway 559 to Highway 552, was originally scheduled to open in 2016.
"On December 14, 2011, the Ministry of Transportation received approval from Transport Canada to proceed with a “phased” approach for the completion of the federal environmental assessment process," wrote Minster Bob Chiarelli's press secretary David Salter in an email. "The four-lane corridor has been separated into five “phases” for which federal approvals will be sought separately. The ministry is in the process of drafting and discussing the screening report for Highway 607 to Murdock River at the north end of the corridor with federal officials.
“MTO expects the federal process for Project 5 will be completed in late-winter, which will allow construction contracts to be tendered for that part of the highway,” continued Salter. “Construction on the other four projects, including the sections north of Nobel, will follow as the ministry completes the federal environmental assessment process for each section."
The ministry remains committed in completing the project by 2017, said Salter.