Ontario says no to Kettle Island interprovincial bridge

The Ontario government won't support an interprovincial bridge at Kettle Island between Ottawa and Gatineau, first proposed by a federal agency one month ago.

All local Liberal MPPs support the decision against the location, according to provincial transportation Minister Glen Murray.

He made the announcement Monday afternoon at Ottawa's Montfort Hospital where the chairman of trustees, Alain-Michel Sékula, has also spoken out against the island as a bridge location.

Earlier this month, Sékula said he believed traffic caused by the new bridge would tie up ambulance traffic.

The National Capital Commission proposed Kettle Island in May as the best spot for Ottawa’s sixth interprovincial bridge.

The corridor would have two lanes for cars and one for buses in both directions, as well as a multi-use path. It would connect Ottawa's Rockcliffe and Aviation parkways with Montée Paiement in Gatineau.

The NCC's bridge plan indicated thousands of trucks would be re-routed so they would no longer clog up downtown Ottawa. The trucks would be diverted onto an expanded Aviation Parkway, right beside Montfort Hospital.