It’s going to take a little longer for motorists travelling between Timmins and Iroquois Falls for the next little while. The speed limit on the Timmins’ part of the road, connecting the two municipalities has been reduced. The City of Timmins has lowered the speed limit to 50 km/h from 80 km/h for approximately 9.1 kilometres of the road from Highway 101 to the city’s boundary. City officials declined an interview with CTV News, but said the decision was made due to deteriorating asphalt conditions and will remain in place until further notice. In the meantime, a contractor is going to complete pothole patching and repairs for the section. Tory Delaurier, the mayor of Iroquois Falls, said the portion of the highway maintained by his municipality is in better condition. “I fully support their move (to) bring it to 50 kilometres until they fill the potholes and that should be done I’m assuming this week,” he said. “I’ve been talking with the mayor of Timmins on this and Minister Pirie, so we all agreed that was the best move going forward,” Delaurier added. Last January, the province announced $20 million dollars to upgrade the stretch of highway, however, Delaurier said the money has yet to be released. “It’s going into the hands of the Treasury Board and once it’s done that phase, we should know when we can start the next phase and starting construction and engineering on that road,” he said. The mayor added that he cannot confirm whether construction will begin this year. The road is approximately 22 kilometres and connects Highway 101 with Highway 11 – a key route for residential, forestry and mining traffic.
