MTO issues 'non-conformance' notices over Hwy 17 closures

The Ministry of Transportation has concluded the contractor maintaining Highway 17 between Terrace Bay and Marathon, in northwestern Ontario, failed to meet set standards during a recent spell of bad weather.

Freezing rain and packed ice resulted in lengthy road closures through the last weekend of November.

• Hwy 17 closure being reviewed by MTO
• Hwy 17 re-opens early Mon. morning after closing near Marathon
• MTO fines contractors for substandard highway maintenace

In an email to CBC, MTO spokesperson Annemarie Piscopo said the ministry had reviewed the incident and will be issuing notices of 'non-conformance'.

Piscopo said the MTO has also told the contractor to make sure it has an adequate supply of winter salt at each of the maintenance yards.

She said the ministry will give the company a chance to respond before deciding on financial penalties.

Piscopo wrote "the total consequences may be adjusted subject to any extenuating circumstances identified in the contractor's response."

In October, the ministry announced it was implementing new performance targets for contractors and hiring new staff to oversee their work this winter.

Those targets require the Trans-Canada Highway, of which Highway 17 is a part, to be plowed every 2.2 hours in a snowstorm. The highway must be plowed to bare pavement within 16 hours of the end of a storm.

The Ministry of Transportation conducts reviews after every weather-related road closure in the province.