Premier Doug Ford says the much-anticipated Highway 7 project between Guelph and Kitchener will be a legacy project for his government.
It's an important distinction according to those within the Ford government.
But with commuters long out of patience for the highway replacement first brought up decades ago, where do things stand entering yet another summer?
"Design work for the bridges that will cross the Grand River is really the next phase of this," Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Mike Harris told GuelphToday on Thursday.
"We're going to be seeing after that, shovels in the ground for the actual twinning of the highway, which will run just north of the current highway. That's really the next phase of the pieces that are coming out, and of course seeing the kind of interchange with Highway 85 through Waterloo being put together around Frederick Street.
"Some good things to come, and hopefully over the summer, we'll be able to have some more announceables."
Harris added consultations are also taking place with First Nations groups in the area as part of the process.
He admits there have been some hiccups along the way, particularly the last six months with the request for proposal process.
There have also been troubles with the lack of manpower to take on the project.
"It's been really challenging to have folks that have the skilled trades that are necessary to work on these projects," Harris said. "That's why we want to make sure that we're putting our best foot forward in partnering with great organizations and great companies that are going to be able to fulfill their obligations."
He said the pandemic has slowed the province down on large scale infrastructure projects like this, but understands they can't use COVID as an excuse for everything.
"We want people to be patient," he said. "But people are running out of patience."
Harris believes we're going to see some good news "over the summer as to sort of the next milestones we're looking to hit."
What that looks like remains unknown because Harris said the province doesn't want to influence the bidding process.
No firm timelines are known at this time.
But there is doubt among community members. An informal poll conducted on GuelphToday drew over 3,000 respondents as of Thursday afternoon. It showed 78 per cent believe either the Highway 6 bypass in Morriston or the new Guelph Public Library will be completed before a new Highway 7.
For reference, a groundbreaking on the new library was done last week, and it is slated to open in 2025.
The Morriston bypass, talked about since the 1990s, has no timeline to it at the moment and prompted a call from Puslinch council asking for progress on the project.
