Clarence-Rockland Mayor Mario Zanth is thrilled to see that steps are being taken when it comes to work needed to improve and expand County Road 17.
During their June 25 United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) meeting, the eight mayors that form the UCPR council approved resolutions to accept a new asset management plan for the counties and also start the work towards the upgrade and expansion of County Road 17 at Rockland.
County Road 17 is the primary connecting link for communities in eastern Ontario and a continuation of Highway 174 into Ottawa.
“This is a crucial first step and this (rehab and expansion of County Road 17) is something we have been talking about needing for decades now,” said Mayor Zanth. “We know this is something that isn’t just going to happen tomorrow or next week, but this is fantastic news and I thank the other mayors of the UCPR who recognize not only the growth in Clarence-Rockland, but other parts of eastern Ontario.”
The UCPR’s new asset management plans proposes a five-phase project over the course of 11 years and cover entire 9.1-kilometre length of the Rockland section of County Road 17, from the Landry Road intersection at the east end of town to the Highway 174 connection at the west end. The total cost of the project, which includes the design portion, is now estimated at $121.2 million.
The UCPR has almost $750,000 set aside now to help fund early-stage design and planning work for an upgrade and expansion of its County Road 17 portion of the Rockland-Ottawa connector. An environmental assessment (EA) on expansion of such an upgrade was done in 2016 with a 10-year limit.
“I have been working on this file since I was elected,” added Zanth. “I have been meeting with many ministers and parliamentary assistants as well as builders, consultants and staff of the UCPR. After a call in April 2025, with the Environmental Study about to expire in 2026, I requested that we move ahead and start the planning process in order to qualify for grants from the upper levels of government.”
Mayor Zanth said the goal is to have a construction-ready design to present to both the provincial and federal governments when infrastructure support funding programs or grants become available.
The UCPR public works department will start the process later this year for a detailed design over a three-year period of the needed upgrades to County Road 17. The cost estimate at present for that detailed design plan is $2.3 million and the money in the County Road 17 reserve fund will go towards that cost along with annual budget allocations over the next three years.
