NB government unveils record capital spending to boost economy

The New Brunswick government took the wraps off a record list of spending projects Tuesday intended to jump-start the faltering economy.

Finance Minister Victor Boudreau delivered the government’s capital budget worth $660 million that should create the equivalent of 6,000 jobs, under the label of building infrastructure to boost the ailing economy.

The budget is up by about $180 million over last year.

The package includes money to build, expand or renovate community college campuses in Edmundston, Saint John and Moncton.

There's also money for long-promised projects such as the Nashwaak-Marysville bypass in Fredericton, the One Mile House interchange in Saint John and the Welsford bypass about halfway between those two cities.

One of the largest commitments is a partnership with the private sector to twin the rest of Highway 1 that runs from the Trans-Canada Highway near Moncton, through Saint John, to the international border at St. Stephen.

Boudreau said the project will be modelled on the two main stretches of Trans-Canada Highway, built and maintained by private companies.

About $380 million has been set aside for those projects.

There will also be expansions and renovations at hospitals in Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton and Miramichi.

And there's money for environmental projects, including preventing erosion once the Petitcodiac causeway gates are opened in 2010.