New Brunswick government to spend $279.6 million on infrastructure

The New Brunswick government announced Wednesday its intention to spend $279.6 million on buildings, bridges, highways, rural roads and equipment in fiscal year 2013-14.

“Our government is investing in strategic infrastructure which will help to build a stronger province and enhance our quality of life,” the province’s Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Claude Williams said while tabling the department’s capital budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

“We are working to rebuild New Brunswick, while also living within our means.”

Major highway projects for the coming year include:

    Route 11 Miramichi to Shediac – $1 million for planning;
    Route 7 Welsford bypass – $12.9 million;
    Route 8 Nashwaak/Marysville Bypass – $9.6 million;
    Route 11 Caraquet bypass  – $12 million;
    Route 2 twinning at the Quebec/New Brunswick border – $10 million;
    One Mile House Interchange in Saint John – $7.3 million;
    Saint John Harbour Bridge rehabilitation – $10.3 million;
    Route 17 upgrading in the Black Brook Area  in Victoria County – $2 million; and
    improvements to the Route 2 Interchange and Elmwood Drive in Moncton – $2.5 million.

A total of $44 million has been allocated for rural roads while $8.8 million will be invested in provincially-designated highways within municipalities.

Another $42 million will be invested in the province’s bridges including the following projects:

    construction of the international bridge at Clair-Fort Kent – $1.7 million;
    upgrading the Hugh John Flemming Bridge near Hartland – $4.2 million;
    rehabilitation of the Centennial Bridge at Miramichi – $3 million; and
    replacement of the Middle River Bridge in Bathurst – $350,000.

Design work will also begin for the replacement of the Saint-Louis-de-Kent Bridge in Kent County.

The government is also planning to invest $5 million in capital improvements for various public buildings as well as $1.5 million in energy upgrades to make these buildings more energy efficient. Another $1.5 million will be used to finish the new office complex at Chancery Place in downtown Fredericton, the government said. 

“I look forward to the coming year and the development of better roads and public infrastructure for the benefit, safety and well-being of New Brunswickers,” Williams said. “We are confident that our multi-year capital spending plan will see us through these challenging fiscal times, while also creating opportunities for the construction industry.”

Photo: Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier David Alward on the Saint John Harbour Bridge in November 2010.