Windsor gets nearly $19M from province for roadworks to support new development

The City of Windsor has received nearly $19 million from a provincial infrastructure program to widen Banwell Road, extend Wyandotte Street East and improve the intersection at Banwell  and McNorton Street.

Windsor-Tecumseh Conservative MPP Andrew Dowie provided the update at a news conference on Friday.

The upgrades will pave the way for construction of up to 3,030 new homes and improve traffic capacity on Banwell Road, Mayor Drew Dilkens told reporters at a news conference. 

"The full Banwell corridor currently accommodates an average of 23,000 vehicles per day," Dilkens said.

"The city projects an increase of 20 to 25,700 vehicles per day north of the interchange and 24,400 per day south of the interchange once the NextStar battery plant is at full operation."

The city applied for the funds because there was no way it could afford to pay for the projects entirely out of its own capital budget, Dilkens said. 

"To be able to get $19 million in funding through this program that helps unlock … the possibility of 3,030 new units in the city of Windsor is absolutely dramatic and it's remarkable," he said. 

The municipality is contributing an additional $24 million to the projects, which is already included in the budget. 

New funding stream for water infrastructure

It plans to break ground on the projects as soon as the weather breaks, Dilkens added.

The $18.8 million comes from the $400 million Housing-Enabling Core Services Stream of the Municipal Housing Infrastructure program, which accepted applications from municipalities last year.

The purpose of the funding stream is to help build, repair and maintain municipal roads, bridges and culverts that will promote housing growth in communities across Ontario.

Windsor aims to build 13,000 new housing units by 2031 in order to meet a provincial target.

While announcing the funding, Dowie also announced a new $175-million Health and Safety Water funding stream, which is accepting applications until Feb. 12, according to the province's website.

That fund will help municipalities build, rehabilitate, and expand aging water, wastewater, stormwater, flood and erosion infrastructure.

Dilkens said Windsor intends to apply for funds from that stream too.

In addition to announcing the infrastructure funding on Friday, Dowie announced that the province is adding a new hospice bed at the Hospice of Windsor and Essex County.

"The Ontario government is proud to support their great work at Hospice with additional funding in support of compassionate and specialized palliative care services," Dowie said in a news release.