Thunder Bay – Business – Highway closures are impacting Western Ontario.
Transport trucks with loads of freight are backed up across the region as winter weather has caused highways to close.
Goods travelling by truck require the roads to be open in order for those goods to be delivered.
Across Ontario, the closure of the Trans-Canada Highway in effect breaks Canada in half.
In his book, Six War Years, Barry Broadfoot travelled across Canada and gathered stories from people who relayed their memories of World War Two.
One of the stories was how vulnerable Canada was here in our region if the railway line at Nipigon were to be sabotaged. Today if the highway were severed, Canada by road would be cut in half.
A few years ago, the Nipigon River Bridge was closed for repairs. There was no alternative route expect through the United States when that happened.
Our region, sometimes seems forgotten but when the highway is closed as it has been for almost a full day now, the importance of keeping infrastructure open is fully on sight for all to see.
It is expected that the highways should be open later today.
While there has been a lot of work on Highway 17 from Thunder Bay to the Manitoba provincial boundary over the years, there has also been a lot of promises made over the years to fully twin the highway.
Perhaps twinning the Trans-Canada Highway from coast to coast across Canada should be a priority for the federal government.
As a national highway, perhaps there should also be standards set for snow clearing and road upkeep as well.
What do you think?
James Murray