‘Gateway’ work should start this fall

While the target date for completion originally was this month, it’s looking like work on Phase One of the “gateway” project on the international bridge here will take place this fall instead.
Fort Frances Coun. Tannis Drysdale, who has worked on the “gateway” project as a consultant, said Tuesday that the holdup has been deciding on images to go on the seven-banner display welcoming visitors to Northwestern Ontario—a key part of the $120,000 project, which also will include an electronic reader board on the mill’s “lap” building.
“It’s taken the committee a lot longer than anticipated to find the images we want,” she noted. “We’ve really struggled with finding the right ones.”
Coun. Drysdale said while images of hunting and fishing do rank among very popular activities in the region, the committee wants to ensure the banners also show other aspects of what makes visiting Northwestern Ontario “a compelling experience.”
The committee’s next meeting is slated for this Friday (Aug. 20).
“Once we get the images picked out, it shouldn’t take long to get the banners made. We expect to be done this season,” Coun. Drysdale remarked, adding the tender for making the banners already has gone out.
She also noted the reader board has been ordered, though it won’t arrive until October, at which time it will be installed.
The board will inform visitors on happenings in the region as well as useful information for travellers like road closures and weather updates.
The banners and reader board are considered Phase One of the “gateway” project, which was a recommendation from the “Re-Inventing Fort Frances” study completed last year.
Once Phase One is completed, Coun. Drysdale said the next step will be to develop a plan for a Canada Discovery Centre and a new Ontario Tourist Information Centre here.
The partners in the “gateway” project include the Rainy River Future Development Corp., Rainy River District municipalities (including Fort Frances, Emo, Rainy River, and more), Dryden-Machin, Kenora, Sioux Narrows-Nestor Falls, Abitibi-Consolidated Inc., and the Sunset Country Travel Association.
The Northwest Angle First Nations #33 and #37, Naotkamegwanning Whitefish Bay First Nation, Onigaming First Nation, and the Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Historical Centre (Manitou Mounds) also are involved.