The Town of Essex is urgently calling on the province to widen Hwy. 3 from the town to Leamington after a fatal crash on the stretch of road last week.
Mayor Ron McDermott says the province has already wasted money repaving the road instead of using those dollars to complete the twinning of the highway.
"Why would they do that at however-many-millions [of dollars] instead of 'boom' let's get it done?" says McDermott.
Council passed a resolution calling on the province to make the highway expansion a top priority.
McDermott says the current two-lane stretch isn't enough to deal with the traffic demand.
"All of this produce and everything that comes from the Leamington, Kingsville and Harrow area — this is the highway," says McDermott. "What are we waiting for?"
Essex Councillor Larry Snively says it's going to take a community effort to get the province to act.
"We've been after this for a long, long time and seems like every year we lose a couple lives on this road, so we really have to push," says Snively.
Sixty-seven-year-old Diana Pepper from Leamington — known as Lynn Pepper and a former employee of the Municipality of Leamington — died in a five-vehicle crash on Hwy. 3 at Arner Townline in Essex on Wednesday.
