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Manitoba budget includes new funding for roads

April 17,
2013, Winnipeg, Man. – The new Manitoba Building and Renewal Plan announced in
Budget 2013 will make record investments in provincial highways and bridges,
and will provide the City of Winnipeg and municipalities across the province
with new revenue to improve municipal streets and roads, Premier Greg Selinger
announced today.

April 17,
2013, Winnipeg, Man. – The new Manitoba Building and Renewal Plan announced in
Budget 2013 will make record investments in provincial highways and bridges,
and will provide the City of Winnipeg and municipalities across the province
with new revenue to improve municipal streets and roads, Premier Greg Selinger
announced today.

"Manitoba's
network of roads and highways is not only a vital link between families and
communities, it is relied on by business to move goods and keep our economy
growing," said Selinger. "These new investments will mean better
roads and good jobs, and they will help stimulate our economy, moving Manitoba
forward through the ongoing global economic uncertainty."

Municipal Infrastructure

The
premier, joined by Local Government Minister Ron Lemieux and Infrastructure and
Transportation Minister Steve Ashton, announced new money to improve municipal
streets:

* $21
million more (doubling the provincial investment to $42 million total) over the
next three years, targeted at repairing potholes and improving residential
streets in the City of Winnipeg; and

* $21
million over the next three years for a new Municipal Roads Improvement Fund,
to which municipalities outside Winnipeg can apply for up to 50 per cent of the
cost of new incremental municipal road projects.

Over the
next 10 years, the province will provide more than $3.5 billion in funding for
municipal infrastructure including roads and bridges, through the Building
Manitoba Fund.

Provincial Infrastructure

The
Manitoba Building and Renewal Plan also includes a record $622 million to
invest in provincial bridges and highways including those damaged by flooding
in 2011, the premier said.

"Strong,
predictable funding for our roads and highways is critical to building a strong
economy," said Chris Lorenc, president, Manitoba Heavy Construction
Association. "These investments mean good jobs for thousands of Manitobans
and they mean better local roads for families."

As part
of these record investments in provincial roads, the province has set aside
resources for two new cost-shared programs:

* $25
million this year in a new Urban Highway Fund, which will enable municipalities
to prioritize investments in provincial highways that affect their
municipalities; and

* $25
million this year in a new Commercial Infrastructure Fund, which will assist
resource industries and municipalities with cost-shared improvements such as
increased loading for heavy truck traffic.

The
premier committed to providing industry with updates to Manitoba's multi-year
highway project planning every two years and to work closely with industry to
keep improving the way projects are tendered to increase productivity and lower
costs.

The new
Manitoba Building and Renewal Plan will help build the province's critical
infrastructure priorities including flood protection, schools and health
centres as well as roads and highways, the premier said, adding it will invest
a record $1.8 billion this year to help secure families and businesses against
an uncertain global economic outlook and the third significant flood in five
years.