NB 907
Oct. 14, 2003
SAINT-JACQUES (CNB) - A project that twinned a 7.2-kilometre portion of the Trans-Canada Highway from the Quebec Border to Saint-Jacques has been completed. Premier Bernard Lord, Madawaska-Restigouche MP Jeannot Castonguay, and Transportation Minister Paul Robichaud attended the official opening today.
This project was funded under the Canada /New Brunswick Highway Improvement Program Agreement at a cost of $11.75 million, which was shared equally between the Province of New Brunswick and the Government of Canada.
"The completion of the four-lane Trans-Canada Highway is a top infrastructure priority of our government," Lord said. "Building strategic infrastructure such as the Trans-Canada Highway is key to increasing prosperity and becoming more competitive, not only in New Brunswick, but in all of Atlantic Canada."
"This highway improvement project will go a long way to helping reduce traffic congestion and promoting efficiency," Castonguay said. "This benefits our economy, as commercial traffic from Atlantic Canada uses this road to deliver goods to Ontario, Quebec, and the United States." Castonguay attended the event on behalf of Transport Canada Minister David Collenette.
From
left: District 6 engineer François Morin, Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska Mayor
Gérald Martin, Edmundston Mayor Jacques Martin, Education Minister Madeline
Dubé, Finance Minister Jeannot Volpé, Madawaska-Restigouche MP
Jeannot Castonguay, Premier Bernard Lord, Transportation Minister Paul Robichaud,
Saint-François-de-Madawaska Mayor Ernest Sirois, Rivière-Verte
Mayor Mona Beaulieu, Clair Mayor Ludger Lang, Intergovernmental and International
Relations Minister Percy Mockler, and District 6 engineer Maurice Landry. (Large
photo.)
The Highway Improvement Program was signed in 1987 and will end in 2004. It is providing $637 million for New Brunswick highways, with a total federal contribution of $358 million. Since 1999, the Province of New Brunswick has invested more than $1 billion in highway infrastructure in the province.
"I am pleased that the Government of Canada has contributed to this important project," Collenette said. "This portion of the Trans-Canada Highway serves as a major trade and tourism route, and these improvements will help improve the flow of traffic and enhance safety along this road."
"Today's opening represents the first seven of 65 kilometres of four-lane Trans-Canada highway that will open in New Brunswick this year," Robichaud said. "This work will mean important improvements in the safety and efficiency of our highway system in our province."
03/10/14
MEDIA CONTACTS: Maurice Landry, director of communications, Atlantic Region, Transport Canada, 506-851-7562; Tracey Burkhardt, director of communications, New Brunswick Department of Transportation, 506-453-5634; Chisholm Pothier, communications, Office of the Premier, 506-453-2144.
03/10/14
