Alberta’s Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program (STIP) will support 87 municipal road, bridge and community airport projects in 50 communities across the province in 2017-18, with the County of Stettler receiving more than $42,000 for three bridge maintenance projects in Big Valley and Red Willow.
According to Brian Mason, Minister of Transportation and Minister of Infrastructure, STIP funding will be bolstering the province’s rural municipalities.
“It helps our rural and smaller urban municipalities sustain their local transportation infrastructure which contributes to a higher quality of life in these communities,” Mason said. “Investing in our towns and counties through STIP will not only ensure they have the roads and bridges they need to grow sustainably, but will also help to create good-paying construction and engineering jobs.”
Based on the submissions/applications, the County of Stettler will receive a grant of 75 per cent of the estimated eligible project costs for the following projects, all for bridge maintenance: BF 02005 up to $18,750; BF 07002 up to $15,000; and BF 06719 up to $9,000.
“We are extremely happy to have received bridge funding from Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation to make some much-needed repairs to some of our bridges,” Reeve Wayne Nixon said. “One of those bridges is in my area, it is a criticial school bus and agricultural route and it has been restricted to 10 tonnes for quite some time now. This funding helps and makes projects a lot easier to fit into our budget.”
Nixon also noted, “I would like to recognize that a very important part of receiving these grants lies in how we prepare and present our grant applications. Everything is taken into consideration when awarding grants, and our County’s preparation, research and effort put into the application process puts us in a favourable position to those reviewing and allocating the grant funding – and I thank the county for that.”
The final grant amount will be based on the actual eligible costs at the time of the project completion.
Mason stated that through the Budget 2017, the Alberta government has made a historic investment in hospitals, schools, roads, bridges, transit, and water infrastructure, and this investment will help stimulate the province’s economic recovery and get Albertans back to work.
Budget 2017 includes $100 million in STIP funding over three years – with more than $37 million approved for projects in 2017-18 – for municipal infrastructure, including local road bridges, resource roads and community airports in rural Alberta.
The Government of Alberta restored funding to STIP as part of its $29.5-billion Capital Plan that is putting Albertans back to work, connecting communities and improving safety and travel on the roads and highways.