Among the hundreds of road and bridge jobs highlighted at the recent Ontario Road Builders’ Association conference in Toronto, the Ring of Fire projects – now treated as four distinct roadways – were clearly top of mind for many delegates.
So much so that ORBA member and activist Mario Villeneuve felt it advisable to remind a set of Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) managers serving on an ORBA panel Feb. 3 that roadbuilders and planners should not proceed with blinders.
Villeneuve argued during a Q and A session that in the push to accelerate the Ring of Fire projects, the ministry should not ignore safety and the need to optimize other northern roads such as Highway 11.
Villeneuve, vice-present of Villeneuve Construction and the chair of ORBA’s northern affairs committee, suggested the province’s two-and-one-lane strategy for Highway 11 might be inadequate to deliver the safety northern drivers deserve. He noted there had been three deaths on Highway 11 recently.
“The Ring of Fire has been the big talk over the convention,” said Villeneuve, noting rising use of 11, which is a federal highway.
“My concern is, so much energy and money is spent on the Ring of Fire project while we’re getting killed and accidents with road closures after road closures on 11.”
He was being “loud and clear,” Villeneuve said, that the MTO should become engaged with the federal government to consider options such as four-laning.
Highway maintenance contractors are “trying their best, but sadly, we’re getting killed on 11,” said Villeneuve. “Let’s make sure that we invest and we walk before we run.”
Several MTO managers including Eric Doidge, MTO assistant deputy minister, responded the ministry was working on both short-term and long-term solutions to address safety in the north.
MTO is well aware, Doidge said, of “the importance of working with the federal government on putting together a proposal that would see a long-term plan that would see the four-laning of Highway 11.”
Four road projects
The intense exchange followed a presentation by MTO manager of northern infrastructure Vanessa Cashmore on progress being made on the four Ring of Fire projects.
There are three proposed new Ring of Fire road projects, she explained, that will eventually connect to the existing Anaconda Road/Painter Lake forestry road, which requires upgrades.
The proposed road projects are the Webequie Supply Road, which connects Webequie First Nation to the proposed Ring of Fire site and could reach 110 kilometres in length; Marten Falls Community Access Road, proposed for approximately 200 kilometres and which links Marten Falls First Nation to the provincial highway network near Aroland; and the Northern Road Link, earmarked for 150 kilometres in length, which connects the Marten Falls and Webequie roads to create a corridor to the Ring of Fire.
The Anaconda/Painter section is envisioned at 80 kilometres long.
Significant deposits have been discovered in the Ring of Fire, including chromite, nickel, copper, zinc, platinum, chromium and gold, Cashmore said, fuelling the provincial government’s interest in developing road access.
“Ontario is committed to funding the cost of these projects subject to any cost-sharing agreements with the federal government,” she said.
“What’s leading this project is our partnerships with the First Nation communities who have been leading the charge…In the previous year, we’ve had significant partnership agreements signed with these communities.”
The Aroland First Nation was the first to sign, in January 2025, and early-works projects are starting up this spring and summer, including clearing and crushing.
Webequie signed a community partnership agreement with Ontario in October 2025.
Early works will include construction of a temporary bridge across Winisk Lake, tree clearing and aggregate crushing and stockpiling, Cashmore said.
“Webequie is located on an island. They are very isolated in that sense and don’t have access to aggregate. In order for them to start the road they need to have access to aggregate,” she explained.
Marten Falls signed a partnership agreement in November 2025. That will lead to early projects including tree clearing, grubbing and aggregate crushing and stockpiling.
The final environmental assessment submission timelines are currently on schedule, Cashmore reported: for Webequie, it was January 2026; for Marten Falls, February 2026; the Anaconda upgrades, spring 2026; and Northern Road Link, spring 2028.
Webequie reached its target, and the Marten Falls EA submission is targeted for late February, Cashmore reported. The Aroland EA is being undertaken by MTO.
After Webequie hit its deadline, Ontario Minister of Indigenous Affairs Greg Rickford stated, “With the submission of the EA and Ontario’s signing of the co-operative agreement with the federal government, we remain on track to get shovels in the ground beginning in June 2026.”
Cashmore said she did not have project tenders to announce at the convention, but there will be spring consultation with industry “to discuss how we are going to deliver these projects.”
