Eastern Ontario politicians are fighting a provincial infrastructure project that they believe will damage the local economy, not stimulate it.

Ontario plans to temporarily close and renovate two service stations near Brockville starting in March and September respectively, raising concern about people working there losing their jobs.

The upgrades are part of a provincial plan to modernize all 23 such stations along its 400-series highways, where motorists can get food, gas and drinking water and use public washrooms, telephones and rest areas. Provincial documents show each upgrade could take three to five years.

Bob Runciman, Conservative MPP for Leeds and Grenville United Counties said the last thing the area needs at this time is more people out of work.

"We just think the timing is atrocious," he said, "Significant numbers of jobs [are] being lost. The province is in a recession."

Roger Haley, reeve for Front of Yonge Township, where the service stations are located, said close to 200 people work at the two facilities.

Bill Smith, who regularly drives a tractor-trailer from Windsor to Quebec said he's seeing more and more service centres out of commission along his route.

He said that means truckers are sometimes on the road for 10 to 12 hours before they reach a truck stop.

"Your only other choice is to pull onto a ramp or along the side of the highway, and it's dangerous," he said.

The Ontario government announced in 2007 that it planned to upgrade the service stations, because their current leases were expiring. It sought a single private entity to design, build, finance, maintain and operate 23 facilities on Highway 400 and Highway 401 and released a shortlist of four groups in November 2007.