Federal funds committed to multimillion-dollar N.B. bridge repair project

Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced a major investment Wednesday of more than $22 million for upgrades along Route 10, which travels through Coles Island, N.B.

The provincial government was also on hand, announcing $22.8 million in provincial funding for the project. Both levels of government say the upgrades will help local businesses compete on the world stage by moving commercial goods to market.

“We are supporting projects that will efficiently move commercial goods to market and people to their destinations, stimulate economic growth, create middle-class jobs, and ensure the Canada’s transportation networks remain competitive and efficient,” explains Marc Garneau.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We are supporting projects that will efficiently move commercial goods to market and people to their destinations, stimulate economic growth, create middle-class jobs, and ensure the Canada's transportation networks remain competitive and efficient," explains Marc Garneau.

The money will be used to replace two single-lane bridges along Route 10 in south-central New Brunswick. The bridges will be rebuilt and widened to two lanes, bringing the route in line with forestry industry standards for vehicle weights while improving the flow of traffic.

Shovels could be in the ground in 2019.

“We are very aligned with the fact that while we’re making these investments to ensure that this trade corridor is going to remain competitive we will do the best we can to ensure that during that transition businesses are able to get their products to markets in a competitive fashion,” explained New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant.

Residents have been calling on improvements to the bridge, which has been deteriorating for about a decade. When asked why the project was stalled for so long, Garneau put the onus on the Harper government.

“For seven and a half of those 10 years it was not a Liberal government that was in place,” Garneau chuckled. “When we did become the government, we did commit to the Trade Corridors Fund.”

The project is being funded through a $2-billion national Trades Corridors Fund, money that will be spread across the country to improve aging infrastructure.