Algonquin Avenue, Timmins’ main thoroughfare, has been voted Ontario’s worst road in a 2015 analysis by the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA).
The pothole-riddled road, which runs through the middle of town, retains the first and second spots —Algonquin’s western and eastern portions are listed separately — of the annual top-10 list.
A third Timmins road, Riverside Drive, came in in the eighth spot, while Sudbury’s Highway 144 earned the number four slot. The remainder of the roads on the list are based in southern Ontario.
CAA’s annual Worst Roads campaign mobilizes Ontarians to vote for the roads they deem to be in the worst shape, with the aim of raising awareness about the need for improved infrastructure in Ontario communities.
During this year’s campaign, more than 2,000 roads were nominated.
Timmins’ Algonquin Avenue is also a Connecting Link, a municipal road that doubly serves as a provincial highway. Timmins’ administration has recently been vocal about the lack of funding available to repair road damage, which has been blamed on a combination of poor-quality asphalt and heavy mining trucks using the roads.
In April, the provincial government reinstated its shuttered Connecting Links program, which is designed to subsidize road and bridge construction. The province will share $15 million worth of grants annually amongst its 77 municipalities. However, there is no indication of how the money will be allotted.
