April 20, 2009

British Columbia rolls out infrastructure spending intentions

The federal and provincial government announced that B.C. will be investing $290-million in key infrastructure projects, which includes easing the traffic bottleneck for transit buses as they approach the Lion’s Gate Bridge.

The announcements were made a couple of weeks before the writ was dropped and the provincial election campaign got underway.

“Every job counts, and this investment partnership will help create more than 1,800 direct jobs, as well as further stimulate the economy through improved movement and traffic flow,” said Premier Gordon Campbell. “We are pleased to continue to deliver critical infrastructure projects across BC by working in close partnership with the federal government and our other funding partners.”

The feds will invest $116.6 million from the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, while the B.C. Government will contribute $134.7 million.

The remaining $38.8 million will come from other funding partners.

“Our Government’s investment will improve the capacity of B.C.’s highways and roads, inject additional capital into our economy, and keep people working during these tough economic times,” said Stockwell Day, minister of international trade and minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway.

The largest project under this investment will benefit North Shore area transit users and motorists with enhancements to Marine Drive and the Capilano River “blue bridge.”

The $40 million Marine Drive Transit Priority project is expected to create 500 jobs.

It will result in reduced travel time and improved schedule reliability for the 95 North Shore buses (12 routes) that use Marine Drive and the Lions Gate Bridge during peak traffic periods.

TransLink and the municipalities of West Vancouver and North Vancouver will also extend transit-only lanes on the approaches to the bridge and addition of transit priority to existing traffic signals at Marine Drive’s intersections with Taylor Way and Capilano Road.

The project is expected to begin late in 2009 and should be complete by March 2011.

Other major projects on the list of 28 include:

• Grade separation of Nelson Road in Richmond, $26.9 million.

• Upgrade of the McCallum Road interchange in Abbotsford, $25 million.

• Construction of an interchange at McTavish Road in Saanich, $24 million.

• Replacing the Stone Creek Bridge on Highway 97 near Prince George, $28 million.

JOC News Service

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