Sudbury councillors back petition to widen Municipal Road 35 between Azilda, Chelmsford

A Sudbury man says widening a stretch of road between Azilda and Chelmsford is a matter of safety and one that's receiving support from local residents and politicians.

Louis Noel has lived inChelmsford for 45 years. He told CBC News thathe's had three family members involved in collisions on the stretch of Municipal Road 35 between the two communities.

"On the two-lane road when you get lots of traffic, you have to watch for your life because that road is so bad," he said.

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Noel assertsthe only way to make the road safer for commuters is to widen it from two to four lanes. That's why he decided to start a petition for the project, which has been delayed for decades.

With the support of nearly 3,000 signatures and the backing of Greater SudburyCoun. Gerry Montpellier, Noel says now is the timeto fix this problem.

"The road is so dangerous. They have so many accidents. Before I get in an accident [and it's] going to happen to me, I decided to do something about it," Noel said.

Montpellier brought the petition forward duringa city council meeting last Wednesday. Hesaidit seems like a common sense solution, because everyone appears to be on boardto address an issue that could cost someone their life.

"Even as I got elected and sent here [city council] by the good folks in Ward 3, they all said the same thing: 'Gerry, get that trail four-laned.'"

'Let's fix the broken arm'

Nickel Belt MP Marc Serre saidhe's on board with the effort,and is pushing for more funding from the federal government to help northern Ontario communities with infrastructure projects.

"We're the greater city of Sudbury.We need to make sure we invest in the regions," Serre said. "We need to make sure that flow of traffic that is part of Greater Sudbury flows better to the core of the city."

The MP toldCBC News the cost to widen the municipal road is approximately $29 million. The city has $5.5 million to restore the two-lane road, but some argue it may make more sense to save that money for widening the street if that's how the three levels of government decideto move forward.

"I'm a practical kind of person," Montpelliersaid."To put a band aid on a broken arm when we can fix the broken arm, let's fix the broken arm."

In order to widen the stretch of road, Serre saidthe federal government would have to play a larger role with more cash.

"If this project receives funding, my understanding is it's ready to go as soon as spring is here," he said of the project that's been a local priority since 1991.

"I'm trying to see how can we prioritize this project and, because it is a shovel-ready project that will have immediate benefit to the area in the short term, what can we do to get it started as soon as possible. If not, then we have to wait for the following summer."