Transportation
Federal, provincial governments provide $400 million for twinning of TCH in New Brunswick (03/05/01)
NB 451
May 1, 2003
FREDERICTON (CNB) - The federal and provincial governments have agreed on a $400 million commitment to complete the twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway in the province. This follows the announcement made in August 2002 by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Premier Bernard Lord toward this project.
"The Province of New Brunswick is pleased to provide $200 million to complete the four-lane Trans-Canada Highway in our province," Premier Bernard Lord said. "By building strategic infrastructure such as highways, we can improve our competitiveness and bring greater prosperity to our province and to all of Atlantic Canada."
"The $200 million contribution will help complete the twinning of the Trans Canada Highway in New Brunswick in five years," Industry Minister Allan Rock said. "I am very proud that this agreement here in New Brunswick is the first one to be signed under the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund."
"I am pleased that the Government of Canada is supporting this project," Transport Canada Minister David Collenette said. "This highway improvement project will enhance public safety, facilitate the flow of traffic and benefit visitors and trade."
"Today is an important milestone in our work to complete the twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway," Transportation Minister Percy Mockler said. "Our department will issue the first contracts through the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund agreement this construction year."
"I am particularly pleased that this investment from the Government of Canada will help improve trade and tourism throughout New Brunswick and eastern Canada by providing better access to markets in central Canada and the United States," Labour Minister Claudette Bradshaw said.
The Trans-Canada Highway is a vital transportation link for New Brunswick and Atlantic Canada. It is the major highway carrying commercial and passenger traffic from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, to the rest of Canada and to key markets in the United States.
The agreement will allow for the twinning of 130 km of Route 2 between Longs Creek and Pokiok; between Woodstock and Perth-Andover; and between Aroostook and Grand Falls.
Through the $2-billion Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund, the Government of Canada works with provincial, territorial and municipal governments, as well as with the private sector, to meet strategic infrastructure needs throughout the country. These investments are directed to large-scale projects of major national and regional significance, in areas that are vital to sustaining economic growth and supporting an enhanced quality of life for Canadians.
In the Speech from the Throne of September 30, 2002, the Government of Canada committed to an additional 10-year involvement in public infrastructure. Its Budget 2003 reaffirmed this long-term commitment and provided an additional $3 billion for strategic and municipal infrastructure. In combination with the $5.25 billion in infrastructure programs announced in Budget 2000 and 2001, this brings the Government of Canada's recent investment in the nation's infrastructure to over $8 billion.
This also addresses an action priority of Greater Opportunity: New Brunswick's Prosperity Plan 2002-2012, the provincial government's 10-year plan to bring lasting prosperity and greater opportunity to New Brunswickers. Under the plan, the provincial government committed to negotiating a new agreement to complete the full twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway across New Brunswick.
This latest investment brings the Government of Canada's total contribution to highway infrastructure in New Brunswick since 1993 to nearly $625 million.
For more information on Infrastructure Canada and its programs, please visit: http://www.infrastructurecanada.gc.ca.
03/05/01
EDITOR'S NOTE: Background information on the project is attached. MEDIA CONTACTS: Anthony Polci, director of communications, Office of the Minister of Transport, 613-991-0700; Selena Beattie, press secretary. Office of the Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Infrastructure, 613-995-9001; Chisholm Pothier, Office of the Premier of New Brunswick, 506-444-2286; Tracey Burkhardt, director of communications, New Brunswick Department of Transportation, 506-453-5634.
Backgrounder
Completion of the four-lane Trans-Canada Highway in New
Brunswick
The Project
- When complete, the four-lane Trans-Canada Highway (Route 2) through New Brunswick will be 516 km in length from the Nova Scotia border to the Quebec border. Approximately 130 km, or 25 per cent, remain to be twinned from two lanes to four.
- Three major sections of the highway remain to be twinned:
- The project involves $400 million in new investment, cost-shared on a 50-50 basis by the federal and provincial governments to complete the construction of a four-lane divided Trans-Canada Highway in New Brunswick from the Nova Scotia border to the Quebec border.
30 kilometres from Longs Creek to Pokiok;
70 kilometres from Woodstock to Perth-Andover; and
30 kilometres from Aroostook to Grand Falls.
Benefits
Accelerating the twinning of the Route 2 portion of the Trans-Canada Highway is a priority for both governments and has several important benefits:
- The Trans-Canada is the main highway linking Atlantic Canada to the rest of Canada;
- Accelerating the twinning of the Trans-Canada will improve trade and tourism by providing better access to markets in central Canada and the United States;
- The project will improve safety and reduce accidents on the route from Fredericton to the Quebec border; and
- Transportation costs and travel time will be reduced by providing a safe and efficient high-speed highway all the way from Halifax, Nova Scotia to the Quebec border. In New Brunswick, the speed limit on Route 2 will be 110 km/hr from border to border.
Timeline
The project will provide for the completion of a four-lane Trans-Canada Highway (Route 2) in New Brunswick in five years.
The New Investment
This new investment brings the Government of Canada's total contribution to highway infrastructure in New Brunswick since 1993 to nearly $625 million.
03/05/01