A major road project in Timmins is receiving provincial cash.
Work on the Connecting Link project that will see a section of Algonquin Boulevard replaced started earlier this week. Timmins and Kapuskasing are among the 14 municipalities in the province receiving Connecting Link Program funding to help repair roads and bridges.
Timmins and Kapuskasing were each approved for $3 million, the maximum available through the program. Kapuskasing's funding is to resurface Government Road from Gurney Road easterly.
Moving forward, the cap for funding is being increased.
The maximum amount of funding municipalities can apply for is $5 million. It's a permanent change, according to the province, to "reflect the higher costs of maintaining and repairing bridges compared to roads."
Municipalities can use the cash for the design, construction, renewal, rehabilitation and replacement of municipal roads and bridges connecting two ends of a provincial highway.
In Timmins, the Connecting Link is a 21.35-kilometre stretch of Highway 101 running from Kamiskotia Road in the west to the old railway tracks in Porcupine.
Since 2016 more than $19 million of roadwork has been done on about five kilometres from the top of Rae Hill to Legion Drive.
Work on this year's project, a stretch of Algonquin Boulevard from the Mattagami Bridge to the Theriault Boulevard intersection, started Wednesday.
During the first phase, Mattagami Boulevard South will be closed to traffic between Algonquin and Wilson, according to the City of Timmins. Algonquin will be reduced to one lane in each direction.
Eventually, Algonquin will be closed to all traffic.
For local traffic, the detour will be Mattagami Boulevard South to Wilson Avenue.
Heavy truck traffic will have to use the bridge located just north of the main one and use Laforest Road to connect with Highway 655.
