The first-round of recipients of government money from the Building Canada fund were announced in Regina recently.
Forty-six infrastructure projects worth $95 million can go ahead.
The projects include bridges, roads, and water and sewer upgrades and construction. The federal, provincial and municipal governments will split the costs equally.
David Marit, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, said a road in his own municipality was selected for reconstruction. It’s needed to accommodate traffic to the new Rolling Hills feedlot in the RM of Willow Bunch.
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The RM of Britannia, near Lloyd-minster, will replace a bridge, and the RM of Mervin, near Turtleford, will build a new water treatment plant. Others are upgrading roads and sewer systems.
Marit said all the projects will benefit rural Saskatchewan because good infrastructure enhances the quality of life for everyone.
Some of the projects are regional. For example, Dundurn and areas south of Saskatoon are undertaking a $9 million waste water collection and lagoon system to accommodate its increasing population. Cupar will get a new $5 million water treatment plant, while other communities are upgrading their existing water treatment facilities.
A call for proposals for the second round of funding from the communities component of the program will be launched, Marit said.
“I think in the second round there will be just as much uptake.”
