Feds, N.L. roll out $366M infrastructure program

Highway upgrades and fixes to water and sewer systems are among a $366-million program of spending that government officials unveiled Monday in St. John's.

Federal cabinet minister Peter MacKay and Trevor Taylor, Newfoundland and Labrador's transportation and works minister, announced approval of the 22 projects during a news conference in St. John's.

Theprice tag will be covered by $145 million in newfederal spending, with the provincial government spending $175 million. Participating municipalities will be paying for the rest.

The spending will include upgrades to the province's regional highway system, and a new wastewater treatment plant for Conception Bay South.

As well, the program will pay for construction in Corner Brook of a divided highway stretching from Massey Drive to the Corner Brook Industrial Access Road.

In St. John's, planned work will now commence on extending Team Gushue Highway from Kenmount Road to the Goulds bypass road, providing a crosstown arterial that has been under consideration for decades.

As well, the program will pay for construction of a new flood control structure in St. John's.

Much of the money is coming from economic stimulus packages that the federal and provincial governments unveiled this winter, in response to the economic crisis.