Cookstown intersection gets provincial funding
By Chris Simon

Cookstown's main intersection will be getting several hundred thousand dollars in additional provincial funding.

Innisfil council formally accepted over $200,600 in provincial funding for improvements traffic lights at the intersection of Queen and King streets in Cookstown, during a meeting last week.

The money, which is funded through the Ministry of Transportation's Connecting Link program, will be used to lessen the financial impact on the town. Last month, the town approved the reconstruction of the intersection, with the province committing several hundred thousand dollars to the project, said engineering technologist Grant Shellswell in a report to council.

"This additional funding will eliminate the over expenditure that council previously approved for this project. The Connecting Link funding is based on 90 per cent MTO funding and 10 per cent town funding on a capital works project," he said.

The overall cost for the reconstruction of the intersection is nearly $519,000, with most of that being paid for by the province. It includes the traffic signal replacement, and improvements to the intersection's sidewalk, pedestrian signals and storm sewers.

Shellswell says the reconstruction is necessary.

"The additional funding allocated to the town is what the town had request from the ministry," he said. "The town should accept the additional funding."

Councillor Lynn Dollin is pleased with the funding.

"More money!" she said, jokingly referring to the $2.8 million funding announced for the Innisfil Public Library's new Cookstown branch recently. "I go away for a week and Cookstown gets $3 million. Looks like I should go away more often."

As part of the funding requirement, the town will be required to submit a detailed report on the project's final expenditures.

Construction will begin sometime after the Victoria Day long weekend.