Trans-Canada, other highways getting upgrades

The Trans-Canada Highway and some border crossings in British Columbia are going to get major upgrades.

Federal and provincial politicians said they will spend hundreds of millions of dollars on highways to improve safety, take the Trans-Canada from single to double lanes, and eliminate bottlenecks.

Prime Minister Jean Chrtien and B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell on Wednesday promised $125 million for improvements to the Trans-Canada and $211 million for border crossings to the U.S. near Vancouver.

The Kicking Horse Pass section of the Trans-Canada, between Golden, B.C., and Lake Louise, Alta., is twice as dangerous as the average B.C. highway.

The federal and provincial governments will split the $125-million cost of replacing the key but "treacherous" 10-Mile (Park) bridge.

Another $211 million will be spent on the border crossings, to reduce congestion and facilitate trade with the U.S.

B.C. is putting $121 million into that project, Ottawa $90 million.

"In Kicking Horse Pass, we will make one of the most beautiful and the most treacherous highways in British Columbia safer," Chrtien said.

• FROM AUG. 14, 2002: Ottawa to split $400-million road work with N.B.

The prime minister is expected to announce federal money for twinning the Trans-Canada across Saskatchewan.