Ontario announces new funding to build Hwy. 416 interchange in Barrhaven

The provincial government is promising to find a new Highway interchange at the 416 and Barnsdale Road. Residents in Barrhaven say this is long overdue and can help ease congestion. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)

The Ontario government is investing $5 million to build a new highway interchange on Highway 416 in Barrhaven.

Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria is in Ottawa on Friday to announce the new interchange at Highway 416 and Barnsdale Road.

"The new interchange at Highway 416 and Barnsdale Road will help local residents and other drivers get where they need to go faster and more conveniently," Sarkaria said.

"Under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government will continue to invest in the roads and bridges that we need to keep Ontario moving."

Plans to build the new highway interchange were first announced in last month's Ontario budget, and have been in the works for years. The province and the city of Ottawa signed an agreement for the new interchange in 2022, which covered the environmental assessment for the highway.

The only highway interchange into Barrhaven is currently along Highway 416 at Fallowfield Road.

The province says it will work with the city of Ottawa to plan and design the 416/Barnsdale Road interchange.

"The completion of the Barnsdale interchange is a commitment our government made to the people of Ontario in 2018," Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod said in a statement.

"I’m thrilled to celebrate the next step as we push the interchange over the finish line as part of our 2024 budget and build a better Ontario for everyone."

Officials say construction will begin in three to five years.

The new highway interchange in Barrhaven is also part of the new three-year, $181 million funding deal announced last month by Premier Doug Ford and Mayor Mark Sutcliffe. The deal includes uploading the rehabilitation and maintenance of Ontario Road 174 to the Ontario government.