Saskatchewan’s rural municipalities already know they are getting $23.5 million to improve roads and bridges, a month before the provincial budget is to be read in the legislature.
That amount is the same as the 2010-11 fiscal year, said highways minister Jim Reiter.
Last year’s money paid for improvements on 280 kilometres of roads and nearly 70 bridges and culverts.
Reiter said he expects a similar outcome this year.
“You can never predict how tenders are going to come in.”
The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities administers the Municipal Roads for the Economy Program (MREP) on behalf of a management board that includes representatives from the ministry.
MREP was designed to provide cost-shared funding to municipalities that see increased traffic from economic growth. It is targeted at developing primary weight truck haul routes. Reiter said announcing the money now allows RMs to get everything in place to begin construction as soon as the weather permits.
The construction season was hampered last year by wet conditions.
