WATERLOO REGION — The long-delayed new Highway 7 to Guelph is delayed again, ahead of plans to build twin bridges spanning the Grand River.

Hunting for savings, the Progressive Conservative government is reviewing funding for the 18-kilometre, four-lane divided highway.

The previous Liberal government vowed to complete the Grand River span by 2020. The Conservative government would not commit to this deadline.

The government said it will continue to design the bridges and that information on its priorities will be revealed "in the near future."

"One of the projects currently under review is the new Highway 7 from Kitchener to Guelph," Ministry of Transportation spokesperson Kersondra Hickey said in a statement to The Record.

Hickey wrote: "We are currently reviewing all projects and spending committed to by the last government, and taking the necessary steps to make sure we are best positioned to provide quality, safe and efficient transportation options to all Ontarians."

Approved in 2007, the new highway is partly under construction, based on planning that began in 1989 and arguably earlier. It would run just north of the current highway.

Ontario has already spent more than $100 million on the project, but has not revealed the full highway cost or said when it will open.

"To come and put everything under review after 40 years when this process started, it's hugely disappointing," said Art Sinclair, vice-president of the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce.

"Any further delay is just going to be an impediment to the growth of this community, in terms of population and economic development."

Critics of further delay cite public safety, economic needs and money already spent.

"That investment needs to be honoured," said Catherine Fife, Waterloo's New Democrat MPP. "Highway 7 is congested. It's unsafe ... The Liberals did lay the groundwork for broken promises on Highway 7. And it does seem that the Conservatives are following suit. And that's not acceptable."

The new highway has earned broad support among Ontario's three main political parties, and municipal and business leaders.

"The new Highway 7 is quote, for the people," Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky said, referencing how the Conservative government describes itself.

He said the current highway is not safe or efficient and its replacement is underway. "Certainly, I'll be advocating on behalf of the citizens of Waterloo to make sure that this project does get its proper priority."

"It's extremely disappointing," said Karen Redman, incoming chair of Waterloo regional council.

"Waterloo Region is one of the economic drivers in the province, and the more seamless and better the transportation system, the better it is economically. But there's also some very real safety issues with that highway."

Fife said it's important for the economy and for safety to replace Highway 7 and also to improve GO commuter trains. Sinclair argues that highway spending helps promote trade and jobs that the government needs to pay down debt.

"We have to be able to move goods so they can be exported," he said. "When people are working and businesses are expanding, they're paying taxes. And that is the way to address deficits."

Provincial spending to support the new highway includes buying land, realigning roads, pipes and utilities, and the recent replacement of the Victoria Street bridge that spans the expressway in Kitchener.

"It's a project that is already well on its way," Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said. "I would be very surprised to not see it move forward in the future."

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Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner is calling on the government to complete the new highway after spending more than more than $100 million on it. His Green party has opposed the new highway.

"If you've sunk that much in you might as well finish the job," Schreiner said. He wants the government to also run GO buses between the cities and expand GO trains.

Delays to the new Highway 7 have become part of local folklore.

"I think the Leafs are going to win the Stanley Cup before Highway 7 ever gets built," Sinclair said. "They might have multiple victories."

"It does feel like Groundhog Day for sure," Fife said. She worries that the last published government timeline said that the new highway would be completed some time after 2021.

"Beyond 2021 means that they're talking about it, but it's unfunded, and it might never happen. And that's the concern," she said.

Various plans for a new Highway 7 to Guelph go back decades.

In 2007, then transportation minister Donna Cansfield approved the new highway and pledged to fast-track it. "This highway will be built," she said.

Cansfield then left the provincial cabinet and the Liberal government delayed the highway during an economic downturn.

The Liberal government revived the new highway in 2012 in what was seen as a failed bid to win the riding of Kitchener-Waterloo in a byelection.

In 2013, the Liberal government set the date for completing the new Highway 7 beyond 2016 in its annual five-year construction forecast. It steadily delayed completion to beyond 2021 in the last five-year forecast it released in 2017.

jouthit@therecord.com

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