Minister provides update on road work in Twillingate and Fogo District

Tom Rideout, Minister of Transportation and Works, today provided an update on the progress of road work on the Walter B. Elliot Causeway in the Twillingate and Fogo District.

J-1 Contracting of Clarenville was awarded a contract valued at over $737,700 for upgrading and paving a section of road along Route 340, as well as repairs to the Walter B. Elliot Causeway. Funding for this contract was made available under the 2004-05 Provincial Roads Improvement Program.

"A substantial amount of work on this causeway and Route 340 has been completed," said the Minister Rideout. "We anticipate that the guide rail on the causeway will be completed in the next week. We are doing the guide rail as we do road upgrading in the area.

"Basically, everything we can do short of paving will be done this year and we anticipate that the remaining road work will be carried over to next year."

"We continue to work diligently on an infrastructure strategy, one that will assist government with providing quality transportation to all the people of the province," said the minister.

"Our government will endeavor to do all we can to provide the safest highway infrastructure for the residents of our province and we continue to build on a strong foundation that will enable the province to achieve its enormous potential. We will continue to make strategic investments where they will have the most positive impact and that are within our fiscal means to do so."

This contract represents more than half a million dollars in road work. Statistics Canada estimates that for every million dollars spent on road work, 12 direct and eight indirect jobs are created.

Media contact: Lori Lee Oates, Communications, (709) 729-3015 or (709) 690-8403

2004 11 04                                  5:05 p.m.