The New Democrat MPP for Essex is accusing the Ford government of breaking a promise to Essex County residents.
On Wednesday, the province announced it is investing $1.3-billion to rebuild and restore 123 highway projects across the province.
Missing on the list of rehabilitation projects is the widening of Highway 3 from Essex to Leamington to four lanes.
Essex MPP Taras Natyshak says he is shocked but not surprised because Doug Ford made a big deal of promising Highway 3 expansion when he visited the area.
"It is a dumb decision on the part of the government to neglect the completion of that project," he says. "We know the enormous importance that it has to our agriculture community and farmers."
During Ford's visit to the area in May 2018, Ford said the province would twin Highway 3 'immediately.'
Natyshak the highway is vital for the local economy since the area is growing and for safety reasons, the roadway needs to be widened to prevent further fatal crashes.
"Our community is ready, the funds are obviously there because there are 123 other projects that have received some action, but for them to neglect this one, just shows that they are out of touch and they really don't care about our community down here."
A couple of projects in the region made the list including rehab work on Highway 401 near Essex County Rd 17, Highway 401 from County 42 to Merlin Rd in Chatham-Kent and the 401 in Rodney.
Meanwhile, an official with the Ministry of Transportation says the government does plan on widening Hwy 3.
In a statement to AM 800 news, Ministry Press Secretary Andrew Buttigieg indicates expansion projects are being done on a line-by-line review and plans include Hwy 3 to improve the safety of residents travelling through Essex.
It goes on to say the ministry is taking the necessary steps to expedite engineering and acquire the necessary property to ensure the project is shovel-ready and the government's highway capital plan will be released in the coming months.