Ministry of Transportation (Ontario)

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Ministry of Transportation Headquarters in St. Catharines

A GO train in Toronto.

The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) is an Ontario government ministry responsible for transport infrastructure and law in the Canadian province of Ontario.

1 Role and responsibilities
2 Road maintenance and emergency services
3 Offices
4 Related link
5 External links

[edit] Role and responsibilities

The ministry is responsible for:

Highway 401 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is the world's busiest highway and is maintained by the Ministry of Transportation.

The Parclo interchange was invented by the Ministry of Transportation. It has become a great choice for many countries around the world due to its ability to prevent weaving but still being efficient.

9.7 million registered vehicles
8.5 million drivers
55 driver examination centres & 37 travel points (both operated by Serco DES Inc, as DriveTest Centres)
281 privately owned Driver and Vehicle Licence Issuing Offices across the province
GO Transit
16,525 kilometres of provincial highway
Service Ontario Kiosks

The current Minister of Transportation is the Honourable Donna Cansfield.

The ministry was gradually created and re-created from a number of other ministries and departments:

Provincial Road Building Instructor, 1896-1916
Provincial Department of Public Highways, 1916-1920s
Motor Vehicles Branch, 1920s-1971
Department of Highways (DHO), 1920s-1971
Department of Transportation and Communications (DTC), 1971-72
Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MTC), 1972-87
Minstry of Transportation (MTO), 1987-date

A list of ministers:

James W. Snow 1975-1984 - as Minister of Transportation and Communications
Ed Fulton 1985–1989
Ed Philip 1990–1991
Gilles Pouliot 1991–1994
Al Palladini 1995–1997
Tony Clement 1997–1999
David Turnbull 1999–2001
Norm Sterling 2001–2003
Frank Klees 2003
Harinder Takhar 2003–2006
Donna Cansfield 2006–present

[edit] Road maintenance and emergency services

Policing on MTO managed roads are provided by the Ontario Provincial Police.

Maintenance work is performed in two different ways: 1. In Maintenance Outsource areas, where MTO staff monitor the road conditions and hire contractors on an as-need basis. 2. In Area Maintenance Contract areas, where one contractor is awarded a contract area and performs all maintenance work except for rehabilitation and new construction.

A list of Area Maintenance contractors currently under contract with the MTO include:

TWD Roads Management
IMOS(Maintenance performed by Miller Maintenance)
Belanger Contracting
Pioneer Construction
Steed and Evans
Cruickshank Construction Limited
The 407 ETR Concession Company owns, operates and maintains the entire stretch of highway 407 in the GTA while leasing the highway from the Government of Ontario until the year 2098.

Area Term Contracts (ATC's)

Area Term Contracts are the latest maintenance and constrcution alternative being reviewed by the MTO. ATC's, if they are approved for tender, will cover all maintenance operations now performed by AMC contractors, but will also include annual pavement maintenance and replacement work, bridge rehabilitation, minor capital construction programs and cooridor management.