New truck corridor moving heavy traffic off city core

SAULT Ste. MARIE, Ont. — A new bylaw seems to be working to keep truck traffic away from the city of Sault Ste. Marie, according to the city’s top engineer.

According to a report in The Sault Star, new signage and a bylaw that reroutes trucks to Second Line and Carmen’s Way are diverting trucks from the former commercial route.

"There has been a good reduction in the number of heavy vehicles using the old route, especially on Wellington Street West, Wallace Terrace and People’s Road," Jerry Dolcetti was quoted as saying.

Earlier this week, Premier Dalton McGuinty pledged $1.1 billion in infrastructure funding to Ontario municipalities on top of another $1 billion announced in the provincial budget this past May.

Carmen’s Way, the new 3 km truck route that connects the International Bridge and Second Line, is expected to see about $400 million of that, according to the report.

Dolcetti added that it could take up to one year to shift most of the truck traffic to the designated route.

He also expects another surge of traffic improvement when upgrades at the entry to the International Bridge are completed.