Unacceptable

Winter weather wreaking havoc on roads across Northwestern Ontario is nothing new, but complaints have skyrocketed since the province contracted out highway maintenance to a private company.
The situation has been so bad this winter that Iron Range Bus Lines—citing safety concerns—is refusing to travel on Highway 502, which is having a major impact on Muskie teams heading to Dryden, Sioux Lookout, and Red Lake for games.
Instead of a roughly two-hour drive to Dryden, for instance, teams now must get there via Highway 71 and Highway 17—making the trip almost four hours each way. That, of course, forces them to depart here much earlier and, in some cases, not get back home until the wee hours of the following morning.
Then there’s the added expense in gas and driver time putting a strain on an already tight athletic budget at Fort High, not to mention safety concerns about that stretch of the Trans-Canada with its higher volume of trucker traffic.
The root of the problem lies in the province’s designation of Highway 502 as “Class 5”—the lowest classification for road maintenance. It means the contractor only is required to restore this highway to snow-packed condition within 24 hours following the end of a winter event, and plowing frequency only has to be every 10 hours.
That’s unacceptable.
Highway 502 is the primary link between Fort Frances and Dryden for residents, whatever the reason for their trip, and as such warrants a higher designation for winter maintenance.
Local MPP Sarah Campbell has been spearheading the campaign for better winter road maintenance. Help her send a message to Queen’s Park that the safety of motorists in Northwestern Ontario doesn’t have a price tag.