Upgrades to Beckwith Street bridge aim to improve safety and flow
SMITHS FALLS – As part of its plan to protect Ontario, the provincial government is investing $6,614,395 to support major infrastructure upgrades in the Town of Smiths Falls.
The funding will help rehabilitate the Beckwith Street bridge structures and complete intersection improvements at Lombard, Brockville and Jasper streets. The investment is being delivered through the 2026–27 Connecting Links Program, which supports the design, construction, renewal, rehabilitation and replacement of designated municipal roads and bridges that connect communities to provincial highways.
The Connecting Links Program can fund up to 90 per cent of eligible project costs, with a maximum of $5 million for road projects and $7 million for bridge projects. In Ontario, there are 352 kilometres of designated connecting links and 70 bridges across 77 municipalities.
“The people of Smiths Falls and the surrounding area deserve access to safe and reliable transportation infrastructure,” said John Jordan, MPP for Lanark–Frontenac–Kingston. “Through the Connecting Links Program, our government is keeping communities moving and making it easier for residents, businesses and visitors to get where they need to go.”
A connecting link is a designated municipal road or bridge that connects two ends of a provincial highway through a community or provides access to an international border crossing.
This year, the province is investing more than $46 million in 21 road and bridge projects across 20 municipalities.
“The Town of Smiths Falls is committed to the ongoing rehabilitation and replacement of key infrastructure,” said Mayor Shawn Pankow. “Roads and bridges, particularly those on our highest-volume corridors, remain a top priority. The Town is very grateful to the Province of Ontario and Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria for this investment of more than $6.6 million through the Connecting Links Program. This funding will enable the rehabilitation of two aging bridges over the Rideau Canal and the redevelopment of a high-volume intersection, enhancing safety and improving traffic flow for years to come.”
“Under the leadership of Premier Doug Ford, our government is making historic investments in transportation infrastructure,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation. “By partnering with municipalities on critical road and bridge repairs, we are strengthening connections across the province and building a more competitive and resilient Ontario.”
Municipalities will be invited to apply for 2027–28 Connecting Links Program funding when the next intake opens later this year.
News release submitted by the office of MPP John Jordan.
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