Wednesday, October 9, 2024 – We are pleased to announce that the new roads connecting the communities of Duchesnay and Yellek are officially open as of today. Community members are invited to join both past and present Council members in celebrating this long-awaited milestone at a ceremony scheduled for Tuesday, October 15th at 11:00 am on Miizhmizh (Oak) Miikan (see map below).
Nipissing First Nation experienced significant delays in opening the new roads due to circumstances beyond our control. Initially, NFN had to appoint a new contractor for the design and construction of the railway crossings. Additional delays arose from the need to secure crossing agreements, as the Yellek railway crossing is owned by Genesee & Wyoming, a US-based railroad holding company, and leased by the Ottawa Valley Railway (OVR).
The connecting road between Duchesnay and Yellek, built on the former CN railway bed, is named Wiigwaas (Birch) Miikan. The road connecting Goulais Crescent in Duchesnay and Wiigwaas Miikan is named Miizhmizh (Oak) Miikan. These names were chosen by Chief and Council based on responses received through a community survey conducted in 2023.
Connecting the east end communities will create opportunities to centralize services and to continue developing critical community infrastructure that will benefit current and future generations.
Background:
These new roads were built in response to feedback we heard during the “Enhancing the East End of NFN” community consultations that were held in 2017 where the need to have a road connecting Duchesnay and Yellek was identified as a top priority by residents of Duchesnay and Yellek. This priority is also identified in NFN’s 20-Year Capital Plan Study.
The new roads connecting Duchesnay and Yellek were constructed with the goals of:
- Improving access for residents to community amenities
- Providing a safer transportation route than travelling on highway 17
- Providing a secondary means of emergency access to both communities to improve fire and emergency response times, and alternate access points in the event of road closures
- Creating access to additional land for development that will lead to more centralized services to improve the quality of life for our debendaagziwaad living on the east end
Project Costs & Funding:
The cost of constructing the new roads to connect Duchesnay and Yellek was $6.8 million, which included site clearing, grading, asphalt, ditching, drainage (culverts, cross-culverts, sub-drains), rock removal and environmental protections. The funding breakdown is as follows:
- The Government of Canada invested $3,823,109 through the Rural and Northern Communities Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Plan (ICIP)
- Indigenous Services Canada contributed $2,684,139
- Nipissing First Nation contributed $294,255 as part of the ICIP agreement
Community Benefits:
- Construction was completed by the Nipissing Miller Partnership, which generated employment for members both directly and indirectly through services subcontracted to NFN member owned businesses
- In addition to labour, Nipissing Miller procures equipment, goods and services (including fuel) from NFN businesses
- Projects completed by Nipissing Miller generate own source revenues for the Nation as NFN owns 51% of the partnership and profits are returned to NFN and invested into our four key pillars: Community Development, Social Development, Economic Development and Debendaagziwaad (direct benefits to members)
For more information or if you have any questions about this notice, please contact:
Steve Doucette
Director of Community Infrastructure
705-753-2050 ext. 1220
[email protected]
Bruce McLeod
Special Projects Manager
705-753-2050 ext. 1326
[email protected]
View the PDF version: Community Notice New Roads Now Open: Enhancing Connectivity and Safety for East End Communities
