Ontario has announced nearly $20 million in funding to help rehabilitate County Road 49 in Prince Edward County.
The announcement was made by Bay of Quinte MPP Tyler Allsopp at Shire Hall in Picton on Friday.
It comes off the heels of a previous announcement in Quinte West of infrastructure funding as well as Ontario Premier Doug Ford announcing his government will be calling an early election next week.
In a release, the office for MPP Allsopp says the investment of $19,933,424 will help support the construction of 2,192 homes.
Speaking with Quinte News, Mayor Steve Ferguson says that the number of houses provided by the province comes from the number of development applications submitted for the east end of Picton.
“So this project is going to enable more than 2000 housing units on the east side of Picton over the next 10 to 20 years. As everybody knows, County Road 49 serves as a vital transportation route for the municipalities, tourism, hospitality and employment sectors, not to mention emergency services that use it to help those who need it.” Ferguson tells Quinte News.
Funding will be delivered from the Housing-Enabling Core Servicing Stream under the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program.
“Our government has heard how important rehabilitating County Road 49 is to the residents of Prince Edward County, and it has listened. This is the major transportation route into the municipality from the east and we’re committed to working collectively on this project,” Allsopp said in the release.
“Rebuilding this infrastructure not only benefits commuters, visitors, and businesses, but it also enables new housing development.”
The release goes on to say that the funding will help to give the county improved standing to leverage the federal government and private investors for their support.
You can listen to the full interview with Mayor Steve Ferguson below:
