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(Greater Sudbury, December 22, 2014) The Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce is pleased at the announcement that the province has included the Maley Drive Extension in the list of priority infrastructure projects that have been forwarded on to the federal government for proposed funding through the New Building Canada Plan. The chamber is optimistically waiting for the official funding announcement from Infrastructure Canada for phase one of the project.

Phase one includes the construction of a new four-lane road near the intersection of Frood Road and Lasalle Boulevard West to extend to Maley Drive and Barry Downe Road, and the reconstruction of the existing piece of Maley Drive from Barry Downe to Falconbridge Road. This phase also includes the construction of a grade separated interchange at the intersection of Notre Dame Avenue and the Maley Drive Extension, the widening of Notre Dame Avenue to six lanes as well as the construction of roundabouts at the intersections of Maley Drive at Barry Downe Road and Lansing Avenue. The estimated cost of phase one is $80 million funded through a cost sharing proposal between the Government of Canada, the province and the city all contributing one third to the initiative.

The city has set aside $2.4 million a year since 2009 to help advance the project. In the 2014 Ontario budget, the provincial government committed $26.7 million for phase one of the project, contingent on matching funds from the federal government.

Phase two of the project will involve the construction of a new four lane road near the intersection of Frood Road and Lasalle Boulevard West to Municipal Road 35; a new four lane from the intersection of Falconbridge Highway and Maley Drive to Barry Downe Road; the widening of existing section of Maley Drive from two lanes to four from Barry Downe Road to Falconbridge; and the reconstruction of an existing CN Railway crossing west of Falconbridge Highway.

“The chamber has been advocating for the advancement of the Maley Drive Extension for quite some time. Our members have often stated roads and traffic congestion as a top priority. Key infrastructure projects like this further position Greater Sudbury as the hub of the North and have huge benefits for both residents and business,” says David Boyce, Chair of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce Maley Drive Task Force.  “We need to look at meeting upcoming and future transport and business needs as well. When I think about what will make our city attractive for future investments such as those relating to the Ring of Fire and others, I think of capital projects like Maley Drive,” adds Boyce.

“There is also a significant safety component here. The extension would provide alternative routes for heavy trucks, providing a lot of relief and enhancing overall safety on our roads,” says Boyce.

In October, the chamber struck a Maley Drive Task Force with the mandate of investigating the current status of the project and advocating for its completion. Recently the Board of Directors approved a motion advanced by the Maley Drive Task Force which is included below. The chamber has been in touch with the city’s roads department and council to extend support for the initiative. The chamber also recently sent a letter to Infrastructure Canada supporting the city’s and province’s prioritization of the project and echoing the potential benefits the completion of the extension would have not only for Greater Sudbury, but also for overall regional economic development.

“This is something that various councils and city staff have been prioritizing for years. It’s great to see it edging closer to becoming a reality,” adds Boyce.

The complete construction of the Maley Drive Extension is projected to create jobs, improve mobility, enhance safety, remove heavy truck traffic from major arterial roads and greatly reduce congestion around the city.  The extension will also serve to reduce wear and tear on roads as damage caused by one heavy truck can be equivalent to that of thousands of passenger vehicles.   Phase one alone is expected to create 780 construction jobs and contribute $88.8 million to the gross domestic product.

For more information, please contact:

Joyce Mankarios
Policy and Communication Manager
T : (705) 673-7133 e. 224
[email protected]

Motion: Maley Drive Taskforce 2014

WHEREAS, the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce an advocate for economic development;

WHEREAS, the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce’s membership has identified roads and the relief of traffic congestion in the City as top priorities;

WHEREAS the Maley Drive Extension will improve safety and traffic flow within the City of Greater Sudbury for the benefit of its citizens, businesses and the mining companies operating in the City;

WHEREAS, the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce has advocated for the timely completion of the Maley Drive Extension since 2009;

WHEREAS, more than $4 million has been spent by local government to maintain Maley Drive in a construction ready state and has set aside $2.4 million a year since 2009 to advance the project;

WHEREAS the provincial government has agreed to allocate $26.7 million towards the first phase of the Extension and the federal government has expressed support to finance the project;

WHEREAS, the overall construction of the Maley Drive Extension will create approximately 1,400 jobs and contribute an estimated $156 million to the national gross domestic product, reduce traffic by as much as 4,000 vehicles a day on routes including the Kingsway and Lasalle Boulevard, remove heavy truck traffic from major arterial routes, enhance safety, improve access to core business and retail areas of the city and increase the efficiency of transporting aggregate and ore within the City of Greater Sudbury;

WHEREAS, the Maley Drive Extension will help position the City of Greater Sudbury as an attractive location for future business opportunities, such as a processing plant for ore mined in the Ring of Fire;

WHEREAS, this project requires demonstrated community support in order to be advanced as a priority project by the new City Council and with the Provincial and Federal governments;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Maley Drive Taskforce recommends to the Board of Directors THAT it reaffirms its support for the Maley Drive Extension project and that it carry out a public advocacy campaign that supports the timely completion of this project.

The Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce representsover 1,000 businesses and through the participation of its member volunteers on committees and task forces, it works ‘as the Voice of Business’ to influence federal, provincial and local legislation affecting business