The P.E.I. government should focus on fixing up the roads we have, rather than trying to build new ones, says Green Party Leader Peter Bevan-Baker.

Bevan-Baker tied his concern to an accident earlier this week. A fisherman on the way to the wharf hit a deep depression in the road and was taken to hospital.

Money spent on the bypass would be better spent on road repairs, said Green Party Leader Peter Bevan-Baker. (Brian Higgins/CBC)

He questioned the wisdom of spending $32 million in provincial money to build a bypass around Cornwall.

"Travel the roads of P.E.I. and you can see what a dilapidated state they're in," said Bevan-Baker.

"This is not the only old, failing culvert on Prince Edward Island. My question was how many more of these are waiting to happen?"

Investment 'for safety and for the economy'

Transportation Minister Paula Biggar argued the Cornwall bypass is an important economic investment.

She said 500 trucks a day exit Charlottetown through Cornwall.

The Cornwall bypass will help keep traffic, including 500 trucks a day, moving, says Transportation Minister Paula Biggar. (Rick Gibbs/CBC)

"Those are high traffic export areas for fishing and farming," said Biggar.

"We are investing those dollars in infrastructure for safety and for the economy to keep traffic moving."

Biggar also noted half the money for the project is coming from the federal government.