School, road and bridge projects provide thousands of jobs for Albertans

From renovating schools to repaving highways and upgrading bridges and culverts, hundreds of shovel-ready projects are moving ahead to create jobs and ensure important infrastructure is ready to support communities and job creators as the economy reopens.

The first week in May, Alberta Infrastructure and Alberta Transportation together announced $426 million in capital maintenance and renewal funding to accelerate repairs and improvements that will support over 3200 jobs. Government is quadrupling this year’s budget for pothole repairs and other critical safety-related activities by adding $60 million provincewide, which will support another 360 jobs.

“Every project is an investment in the future of a community and its families. These projects add to everyone’s quality of life over the long-term while they provide good, well-paying jobs that will help Albertans feed their families and pay the bills.”

“Every region of the province has felt the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis and the collapse of energy prices. Road maintenance work will keep companies moving, extend the life of our infrastructure and provide more value for taxpayers. We are doing everything we can to get Albertans back to work, and these projects will create thousands of good jobs for Albertans in the short term while improving driving conditions and ensuring our important transportation corridors are ready to support the province’s businesses and job creators, once the economy recovers.”

Summary of job-creating announcements

• 560 jobs building five new schools in Calgary, Cochrane, Legal and Edmonton starting fall 2020.
  • 26 additional schools remain under construction and 47 are in the design and planning stages.
• 600 jobs repaving highways, and replacing and rehabilitating bridges in southern Alberta.
• 775 jobs in north central and northeastern Alberta repaving highways, rebuilding bridges and upgrading culverts.
• Over 940 jobs repaving highways, regrading roads, and upgrading the Peace River Correctional Centre and courthouse in northwestern Alberta.
• Over 500 jobs in central Alberta maintaining highways and bridges, upgrading the Red Deer Provincial Building, Roland Mitchener Recreation Centre and Lac La Biche provincial building.
• Over 360 jobs repairing potholes and other critical safety-related activities provincewide.

“The ARHCA thanks government for recognizing that investing in our road network offers high value for taxpayers. Government’s regionalized plan will bring jobs back to many Alberta communities. Our members are eager to get to work quickly and safely to support the Alberta economy.”

Education and Advanced Education will be announcing additional funding for hundreds of repairs and maintenance projects at schools and post-secondary institutions in the coming weeks.