Bob Zimmer, Member of Parliament for Prince George-Peace River, and Todd Stone, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure for British Columbia today announced a highway corridor upgrade on Highway 97.

The project involves the addition of a southbound passing lane on Highway 97, north of Fort St. John to provide highway travellers with more opportunities to safely pass, increase safety for all travellers and contribute to better regional traffic flow.

The New Building Canada Plan is the largest and longest federal infrastructure plan in Canada’s history. This unprecedented commitment is providing $53 billion to support provincial, territorial and municipal infrastructure between 2014 and 2024.

Over this ten-year period, British Columbia will benefit from approximately $3.9 billion in dedicated federal funding, including almost $1.1 billion under the New Building Canada Fund.

This project reflects a commitment to improve highway safety as part of the Province’s ten-year transportation strategy – B.C. on the Move. This plan will improve the province’s transportation network providing a comprehensive road map for transportation investments and strategic policy actions over the next decade.

Quick Facts:

• This is the second of two components of a larger highway improvement project that the Government of Canada has selected for funding consideration of up to one half of total eligible costs, to a maximum of $17.5 million for both components of the project under the New Building Canada Fund’s Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component-National and Regional Projects. The first component – upgrades to the Fort Nelson River Bridge – was announced on July 24, 2015. This funding is conditional on the project meeting applicable federal eligibility requirements with respect to the New Building Canada Fund and on the signing of a contribution agreement.
• The Government of British Columbia will be contributing the remaining $22 million to the project. The total estimated cost of the overall project is $39.5 million.
• The $53 billion New Building Canada Plan provides stable funding for a 10-year period, and includes:
  • The Community Improvement Fund, consisting of the Gas Tax Fund and the incremental Goods and Services Tax Rebate for Municipalities, which will provide over $32 billion to municipalities for projects such as roads, public transit and recreational facilities, and other community infrastructure.
  • The $14-billion New Building Canada Fund, which consists of:
    • The $4-billion National Infrastructure Component that will support projects of national significance; and
    • The $10-billion Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component for projects of national, regional and local significance. Of this amount, $1 billion for projects in communities with fewer than 100,000 residents through the Small Communities Fund.
  • An additional $1.25 billion in funding for the Public-Private Partnerships (P3) Canada Fund administered by PPP Canada.
• As part of B.C. on the Move, almost $2.5 billion will be invested to grow the economy, improve safety, maintain and replace aging infrastructure and supports trade for B.C.’s expanding resource sectors over the next three years alone.
• Included in this, the Government of B.C. will invest more than $800 million in highway and bridge rehabilitation and safety improvement.
• The B.C. government has budgeted almost $1 billion over the next three years to ensure our network has the capacity to meet the transport and trade needs of the province – a key to growth and prosperity.

Quotes:

Bob Zimmer, Member of Parliament for Prince George-Peace River, on behalf of the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs, and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec –

“The government’s support for public infrastructure has never been stronger. With increased travel on the Alaska Highway we are committed to ensuring that our workers and their families have the safest commute possible. We are pleased to work with the Province of British Columbia to approve projects under the New Building Canada Fund, to ensure that infrastructure funding continues in British Columbia as we focus on creating jobs, promoting growth, and building strong, prosperous communities across Canada.”

Todd Stone, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure for British Columbia –

“Highway 97 is an important corridor for our province’s growing natural resource industry and we have heard from local communities that the congestion at Mile 58 is not allowing the people and goods to move through the area with ease. With this new passing lane we are making good on a major commitment from B.C. on the Move – to improve safety and accessibility for families, travellers and industry as they support British Columbia’s expanding economy.”

Pat Pimm, MLA, Peace River North –

“This new southbound passing lane on Highway 97 will increase both safety and convenience for residents and commercial traffic in our region. This corridor has been a priority for me as an MLA, and I’m glad to see this project moving forward.”

Associated Links:

To read the July 24, 2015, announcement about the Fort Nelson River Bridge: http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?mthd=index&crtr.page=1&nid=1006689

To learn more about the New Building Canada Fund – Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component – National and Regional Projects: http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/nrp-pnr-prog-eng.html

For additional information on the New Building Canada Plan: http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/plan-eng.html

Learn more about the Government of Canada's focus on jobs and the economy consult Canada’s Economic Action Plan: http://www.budget.gc.ca/2015/home-accueil-eng.html

Learn more about B.C. on the Move: http://engage.gov.bc.ca/transportationplan/

Follow the work of the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure: http://www.tranbc.ca/