Kettle Island bridge not a priority for Ottawa: Mayor

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says a proposal to build a new interprovincial bridge to Gatineau is not a priority for Ottawa, as he continues to push for more funding from the federal government to help the city's cash-strapped transit system.

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The federal government's fall economic statement tabled on Monday announced a commitment to building a new east end bridge that would cross Kettle Island in the Ottawa River to connect Aviation Parkway in Ottawa near the Rockcliffe Airport and Montée Paiement in Gatineau. The government also announced new funding for feasibility studies into a two-kilometre portion of the proposed Gatineau-Ottawa tram project.

The two projects were the only new funding related to transportation announced for the city of Ottawa with no money for operating OC Transpo.

Sutcliffe appeared on Newstalk 580 CFRA's The Morning Rush with Bill Caroll Tuesday morning, noting that "time is running out" for the government to help Ottawa's transit system before "tough decisions" will have to be made.

"What I saw in the fall economic statement was focused mostly on priorities for Gatineau and priorities for others. They're not issued that we've raised," Sutcliffe said.

"When I've met with the Prime Minister, when I've met with members of his team, I've never asked for another bridge. The tramway into Ottawa is a Gatineau priority, it's not an Ottawa priority and I am getting a little concerned that time is running out because we’ve passed our budget, and we need to see some action soon."

Sutcliffe reiterated his "Fairness for Ottawa" campaign launched earlier this year, calling for $140 million dollars over three years from both the federal and provincial governments to cover what he says are years of underpayments to the city in the form of transit funding.

With no funding confirmed from the upper levels of government, the city is pulling several levers to address a $120 million shortfall in the 2025 OC Transpo budget. The budget included transit fare hikes and an increase in the transit levy.

He called on Ottawa-area Liberal members of Parliament to apply additional pressure on the government to step in with the funding as questions linger over the federal government's long-term stability following former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland's resignation on Monday.

"Time is running out on this Parliament and possibly on this government so we need a commitment from the government as soon as possible so we can move forward with certainty on our budget issues," Sutcliffe said.

"I've been reassured over and over again my members of this government that help is on the way but we're going to have to see that soon or we're going to have to make some tough decisions."

The idea for the Kettle Island bridge, also known as "Corridor 5" or the "eastern bridge" was shelved in 2013 after public backlash from residents and the Ontario government refusing to fund it. The federal government revived further studies on the Aviation Parkway and Montée Paiement corridor this year, saying it could provide an alternative transportation route to address truck traffic downtown.

Residents have long called for a solution to the large trucks that travel through Sandy Hill and Lowertown to reach Quebec. Approximately 3,500 trucks cross the Ottawa River in the national capital on a typical weekday, according to an NCC report.

Corridor 5, also known as the Kettle Island bridge or eastern bridge, is a proposed sixth interprovincial bridge. (National Capital Commission map)

The impact of a sixth bridge on truck traffic in the city is contested, however. A 2021 report found interprovincial crossings in the east end would only divert about 15 per cent of heavy truck traffic by 2050.

Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney was quick to swat away the bridge idea on Tuesday.

"I think it’s a little hairy fairy. It’s magic beans, no one is buying it. This is a political stunt, unfortunately," he told CTV Morning Live.

Tierney said there has been major changes to city since the pandemic, including a reduction of federal government workers coming into the city, making a new bridge less needed than before. He says a new Conservative government would likely kill the idea.

"I think this is something that is out there that would really help satisfy some MP's that are running again for re-election but a the same time, it's not grounded in reality," he said.

"Maybe we should focus on real things in the city if we suddenly find money for things like a ring road, where people don't have to go through the downtown corridor anymore and we don't see the traffic issues that are happening."

The idea for a ring road surrounding the city has been previously suggested, though plans have never materialized. Other cities, such as Edmonton and Winnipeg, have successful ring roads that bypass their cores.

Very few details are provided in the fall economic statement about the proposed Kettle Island bridge, with no dollar amount attached to the so-called commitment, nor any timeline.

If built, it would be the first new interprovincial bridge constructed in the region since the Portage Bridge was completed in 1973. Several of the five current crossings are expected to reach capacity by 2031.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Ted Raymond