Conservatives indicate infrastructure support essential

Times Contributor     

 

In the new provincial budget, funding for needed infrastructure plays an important role. As the next phase of the Building Alberta Plan kicks in, Budget 2014 will invest $6.6 billion this year and $19.2 billion over the next three years in essential infrastructure needed to support Alberta’s exceptionally strong population growth. Alberta is expected to remain Canada’s fastest-growing province in 2014 and 2015,

“Alberta has become the province of choice for four million people to live, work and play. Local people are in the best position to determine their community’s infrastructure needs to address pressures and help improve the quality of life in their towns and cities. That’s why our grant programs are designed to assist municipalities with their priorities to prepare for our province’s unprecedented growth.” said Municipal Affairs Minister Ken Hughes.

Alberta’s rapid growth requires continued investment in infrastructure and over the next three years, the government is investing more than $19 billion through the Building Alberta Plan for roads, schools, health facilities and municipal capital projects.

There will be $859 million in flood recovery projects, mostly for mitigation to help Alberta communities limit the impact of future flood events.

They will invest $3.7 billion over three years, under the Municipal Sustainability Initiative. Excluding flood recovery initiatives, municipalities will receive nearly $2.1 billion in direct funding in Budget 2014, an increase of 8.6 per cent from 2013-14.

Government is also investing $1.4 billion to support other municipal infrastructure, including $667 million for GreenTRIP. Municipalities can apply for GreenTrip capital funding to help purchase transit vehicles and technology, build terminals and expand light rail systems that increase ridership, reducing traffic congestion and carbon footprints. 

The province’s roadways were not forgotten and money will be directed to their improvement.

“Effective local transportation networks allow people and goods to move safely and efficiently within a community and help connect that community to provincial and national networks. We are committed to paving the way to ensure we can move our products to new markets and support the growing transportation needs of our ever-expanding population,” said Minister of Transportation Wayne Drysdale, 

To that end they have committed money for building 258 km of new twinned highways, which includes twinning the treacherous Highway 63 to Fort McMurray by 2016, a $691 million investment over the next three years. They will also provide for 2,500 kilometers of rehabilitation for existing highways, 

 “Alberta is the fastest growing province in the country, and we can’t afford to stop building. Under our Building Alberta Plan, we are meeting the challenge of enormous growth head-on, while focusing every day on making Albertans’ quality of life even better.” said former Premier Alison Redford.