Addison, May 8, 2009 — An official ceremony today celebrated the rehabilitated Mud Creek Bridge in Elizabethtown-Kitley.

Gord Brown, Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville; the Honourable Leona Dombrowsky, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; and Jim Pickard, Mayor of the Township of Elizabethtown-Kitley, are pleased to see this important Canada-Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (COMRIF) project reach completion.

The replacement of Kinch Street Bridge was also celebrated today.

Work on Mud Creek Bridge included replacing the support structure, girders, deck and railing, installing new steel beam guide rails, and modifying the roadway approach. The Kinch Street Bridge was replaced with a new structure capable of handling two way traffic.

The Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario each committed up to $144,333 to replace Mud Creek Bridge under Intake Three and $239,876 to replace Kinch Street Bridge under the second intake. The Township of Elizabethtown-Kitley committed the balance of each project’s total eligible cost.

“By investing in our bridges, we are improving transportation efficiency for residents across Ontario,” said MP Brown. “These upgrades benefit area residents by helping to sustain increased safety and economic development.”

“These bridges are essentials link for this community,” said Minister Dombrowsky. “The McGuinty government is pleased to participate in this partnership project to improve the quality of life for the residents of Elizabethtown-Kitley.”

“We are thankful the federal and provincial governments took positive action to help us renew our infrastructure,” said Mayor Pickard. “These upgrades continue to benefit our community as they reduce maintenance costs and allow the township to be stronger and more sustainable.”

Under the COMRIF program, the governments of Canada and Ontario are working together with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and local partners to respond to local needs through infrastructure upgrades that provide clean, safe drinking water, better sewage systems, improved waste management processes, safer local roads and bridges, as well as other health and safety priorities.

For further information on the Canada-Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund, please visit www.comrif.ca.