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•T he I FP • H al to n H ill s •T hu rs da y, J ul y 11 , 2 01 3 12 CONCEPT + = 361 Guelph St., Georgetown www.conceptford.com 905-873-1626 Town officials were stunned earlier this year to learn the Province has cancelled the Connecting Link program, a move that could cost the Town close to a $10 million. The provincial Connecting Link pro- gram provides up to 90 per cent of fund- ing for maintenance, repair and upgrade of provincial highways that go through built up communities- in this case, Guelph St. and Main St. N. in Georgetown, and Queen St., Young St., Mill St. E. and Main St. N. in Acton. In the past the Town has relied on Min- istry of Transportation funding for 11 proj- ects costing $7.7 million, of which MTO contributed $4.9 million-- 64 per cent of the overall bill. From 2013 to 2018, the Town expects about $9.4 million worth of work will need to be done on the Connect- ing Link portions in Halton Hills. "There are a number of projects on Con- necting Link roads that need to be done immediately," said Chris Mills, Director of Infrastructure Services. "Without a compa- rable replacement program, the download of responsibility will place immense pres- sure on the Town's finances, in particular, the Capital Replacement Reserve." In particular, is the CNR bridge on Main St. N. which requires structural repair of more than $700,000. Other projects in- clude the full signalization of traffic lights on Main St. N. at School Lane ($105,000), resurfacing of Main St. N. , Young St. and Queen St. in Acton (more than $2 million) and turning lane changes on Guelph St. "This is a huge disappointment. The importance of this program could not be underestimated with respect to the Town's Capital Forecast," adds Mayor Rick Bon- nette. "Without this, or a similar program, the Town's resources will undoubtedly suf- fer by using other funds to finance required work on these major road ways." "It's not a subtle download from the province," said Regional Councillor Clark Somerville at a recent council meeting when Council approved a recommendation to send a letter off to the Province express- ing disapproval and the need for reinstate- ment of the program. The Province still maintains its juris- dictions over these roadways meaning the communities still need to get MTO permis- sion for installation of traffic lights or half- load restrictions. "Not having operational control, but be- ing required to fund the construction is a concern to the Town," said the staff report. Provincial move may cost Town big bucks for roads By CYNTHIA GAMBLE Staff Writer