Expansion work on Highway 7 in Ottawa, Canada, is on schedule to be complete next year, according to Transport Minister Kathleen Wynne.

The C$107m ($102m) project is part of the C$32bn ($30.7m) Open Ontario infrastructure plan to improve highways in the Ottawa-Carleton region.

The project includes widening the highway to four lanes from Highway 417 to Jinkinson Road and widening another 12km of Highway 7.

The expansion of the highway will improve safety, reduce traffic and boost the local economy, Ottawa-Nepean MPP Bob Chairelli told the Ottawa Citizen.

“There have been too many fatal and serious accidents on this road. The road does not have the capacity to meet the current demands of the growing communities,” he said.