Province launches new study to improve 'dangerous' Highway 138

Latest study comes in the wake of renewed calls for safety upgrades

The province is commencing a new study of Highway 138, a single-lane highway between Highway 417 and Cornwall, Ont., that's been the site of multiple fatal crashes over the years.

The province has retained engineering firm Parsons Inc. to study the highway for possible improvements and to carry out a new round of public consultations.

The firm announced last week it was launching the Highway 138 study.

The roughly 36-kilometre single-lane highway is an important connection between Ottawa and Cornwall.

Justin Towndale, Cornwall's mayor, welcomed the news.

"We know that there's some dangers there on the highway. There's some risk there. There's been some fatal collisions. It seems like unfortunately there's one every year," Towndale said.

"So if there's investment improvements coming, it's good news for everyone."

Between 2022 and 2025, the Ontario Provincial Police recorded 247 collisions on the road, two of which were fatal.

In March 2025, 33-year-old Amanda Maloney of Moose Creek, Ont., was killed in a three-vehicle crash on the highway. Her death sparked renewed calls for safety upgrades.

Radio-Canada spoke with several residents who called the road unsafe — including Maloney's friend Carrie Curry.

"I've been living out here for about 15 years and I do try to avoid it as much as possible," Curry said.

"Unfortunately, last year I lost one of my very good friends on this road. And the passing, the speeding, the lack of attention that's taken by drivers on this road is very, very concerning."

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Other people who live near Highway 138 shared similar sentiments.

"You always know that the 138 is pretty dangerous, "said Nicole Melnyk. "There's just not a lot of visibility and makes it very dangerous."

"They got to do something about it. It's like I say, it is a death trap," added Ron Lafleur.

North Stormont Mayor François Landry echoed those concerns, calling Maloney's death "unnecessary."

"I’m the mayor of North Stormont, but I’m also a resident. I worry about my own children. I have three daughters who drive. These are all aspects where we have to keep pushing," he said in French.

A previous 2017 report from consulting firm Stantec proposed more than two dozen recommendations for improving the highway, from new turning lanes to roundabouts, carpool lots and flood mitigation infrastructure.

Traffic has increased significantly on Highway 138 since the Stantec report was done, said Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry MPP Nolan Quinn.

The province had previously promised work on upgrading the highway would begin in 2028, and Quinn said he expects that to still be the case.

"If we're going to go and do these new additional safety measures for the highway, we want to make sure that we're we're meeting the needs of today and not necessarily from the 2017 traffic counts that were associated then," he said.

"Both of us are looking to make sure it's done properly, not just a quick fix," Landry echoed. "The project is about ensuring it's done right."

Nathan Fung is a reporter with CBC Ottawa, with a strong interest in covering municipal issues. He has previously worked as a reporter in Hamilton and Edmonton. You can reach him at nathan.fung@cbc.ca

with files from Radio-Canada's Ann-Sophie Gagné