WAWA — After a series of washouts repeatedly forced the closure of Highway 17 near Wawa, area mayors are calling on the province to prioritize reopening highways in the region quickly.
Wawa Mayor Melanie Pilon and the Northeast Superior Mayors Group have written to Prabmeet Sarkaria, Ontario’s minister of transportation, requesting a meeting to address the issue, according to a press release issued by the municipality on July 30.
“We are asking the province to expedite the reopening of highways after weather events and to implement a fulsome preventative maintenance strategy to keep our highways open year-round,” Pilon is quoted saying in the release.
“Road closures in the North are no longer just a winter issue, and the safety and well-being of our communities depend on a more proactive approach.”
The highway closures impact health-care access, business, delivery of essential goods, and emergency services, placing local residents at risk, said the release.
A 107-kilometre stretch of Highway 17 was closed on July 16 and reopened for less than a week before the highway closed again, necessitating a lengthy detour in both cases via secondary highways connecting Wawa, Chapleau and Thessalon.
The mayors group is looking to speak with the the minister of transportation about protocols for highway closures as well as upgrading and maintaining alternate routes "to ensure residents, businesses, and emergency services are not isolated during extreme weather."
