THIS BUILDING HAS BEEN A FIXTURE ON JOHN COUNTER BLVD AT PORTSMOUTH AVENUE FOR DECADES.

THE EDWARDS FORD COLLISION CENTRE HAS PROBABLY FIXED THOUSANDS OF DENTED CARS SINCE THE 70'S.

BUT NEXT MONTH, IT'LL BE CLOSING SHOP.

STEVE PETRIE:

"WE'RE GOING TO CLOSE IT UP. WE'VE MADE THAT DECISION. WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR TWO YEARS WITH THE CITY, BACK AND FORTH, BACK AND FORTH, NEGOTIATING."

THE CITY HAS PURCHASED THE LAND HOUSING THE BODY SHOP AND WARD'S TOWING TO BUILD A BRIDGE OVER THE CN RAILWAY TRACKS.

TRAFFIC ON JOHN COUNTER IS HEAVY AT MOST TIMES OF THE DAY.

DEANNA GREEN:

"AND THEN WHEN A TRAIN COMES, VEHICLES CAN BE DELAYED FOR QUITE SOME TIME. SO A BRIDGE IS REALLY A KEY COMPONENT IN THE IMPROVEMENTS WE INTEND TO MAKE ALONG JOHN COUNTER BLVD."

THE NEW BRIDGE AND FIVE LANES OF TRAFFIC WILL COST THE CITY ABOUT 60 MILLION DOLLARS.

THE COLLISION CENTRE STANDS IN THE WAY OF THE VERY CARS IT HAS FIXED -- AND ITS CLOSURE WILL AFFECT 6 EMPLOYEES.

STEVE PETRIE:

"SOME OF THEM ARE LONG TERM EMPLOYEES. WE'VE GOT THREE GUYS THAT HAVE BEEN DOWN THERE BETWEEN 17 AND 24 YEARS, THAT HAVE WORKED FOR US. THEY ALL FOUND WORK THE NEXT DAY. THEY'RE ALL VERY SKILLED LABOURERS, TWO PAINTERS AND ONE BODY MAN."

PETRIE WANTED TO RELOCATE THE AUTO BODY SHOP .... BEHIND THE FORD DEALERSHIP ON BATH ROAD, BUT IT'S NOT ZONED FOR INDUSTRIAL USE.

SO IT DIDN'T MAKE FINANCIAL SENSE...

STEVE PETRIE:

"AND INVESTING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO REPLACE WHAT WE'VE GOT."

HE SAYS ALL PAINT AND BODY WORK WILL BE OUTSOURCED TO LOCAL SHOPS WHEN THE JOHN COUNTER BLVD LOCATION CLOSES BY THE END OF JUNE, OR SOONER.

THE BRIDGE AND ROAD WORK IS NOW IN THE DESIGN PHASE, AND CONSTRUCTION WORK COULD BEGIN BY LATE NEXT YEAR.

CHRIS HARVEY, CKWS NEWSWATCH, KINGSTON.