Province should lead interchange construction

Letter to the Topic January 6 2011
Re: Councillors take issue with interchange report
On Jan. 4, I attended the environmental assessment presentation by McCormick Rankin Corporation with regard to the 5th Line/Hwy. 400 interchange.
I am concerned the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury might take the lead role in this project.
Has a municipality of our size ever been the lead agency for the construction of a 400 series highway bridge?
What liability would be assumed by the ratepayers and municipal staff of Bradford West Gwillimbury?
Is bridge work on the 400-series highways not the sole responsibility of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation?
What is the precedent set by other municipalities?
How can municipal staff be allowed to work on Ministry of Transportation lands?
What experience do our town engineers have with a project of this magnitude? 
Should the majority of the cost for this type of infrastructure be the responsibility of the Ministry of Transportation and financed by taxes paid through gasoline sales, licence plates, etceteras?
We do have the case of the Dissette Street/8th Line expansion as an example of the results of poor management.
To date, this project is in astronomical financial overruns.
An extension has been granted from March to mid-June 2011 for the completion of the project.
The budget for this extended work has not yet been made public, but it is certain that the overruns will be in the millions of dollars.
The local citizens will be left accountable for much of the cost overrun.
Would the Ministry of Transportation not, therefore, be best suited to lead the 5th Line/Hwy. 400 interchange project?
Mikki Nanowski
Bradford