Ottawa, P.E.I. announce $215M in highway improvements

The federal and provincial governments announced a major initiative Thursday morning to improve P.E.I. highways.

The $215-million project will include the resurfacing of 270 kilometres of the national highway system, an additional 52.5 kilometres of provincial roads, and the replacement of 18bridges.

"You have to have good highways if you're going to have tourism, if you're going to move your products to market. All of this is so vitally important. And some of the highways are in very bad shape," said Cardigan MP Lawrence MacAulay.

The federal government is contributing $101 million to the project, with the province providing the remaining $114 million.

Investing in rural P.E.I.

From small patches of repavingto the complete replacement of bridges, officials said there are around 200 projects planned, with work set to take place over the next four years.

The province has not released a full list of projects, but said highlights include repaving on Georgetown road;repaving along sections of Route 2, including in Hunter River;the overpass at the Y intersection in Albany;and replacing the North LakeBridge.

The province had previously announced $2.5 million to replace the North Lake Bridge.

Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy Steven Myerssaid road improvements are important for the economy, and for daily life for Islanders.

"I think it's important for somebody like me who has been talking the last nine years of my political career about the importance of rural P.E.I., that we put our money where our mouths are," he said.

"And put the investments in rural roadsso that all Islanders can get to the big centres with ease."

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