Road improvement plan laid out for Canada’s Prince Edward Island

The Canadian Atlantic province of Prince Edward Island will invest around US$170 million over four years to improve roads, including resurfacing 270km of highways.

Projects will include the replacement of 18 bridges, according to a statement from Infrastructure Canada, a federal agency through which the central government will funnel $83.5 million towards the work. The province will provide $86.5 million, noted the agency.

PEI is one of the three maritime provinces and is the smallest province of Canada in both land area and population around 155,300 residents but with a high tourist population in summer months. The island of 5,660km² produces 25% of Canada's potatoes.

Ferry services linked the island to the mainland until 1997 when the Confederation Bridge (pictured), spanning the Abegweit Passage of the Northumberland Strait, was opened at a cost of $1 billion and after four years of construction. The 12.9km toll bridge is the world's longest bridge over winter ice-covered water. The multi–span post-tensioned concrete box girder structure has 543 spans with the longest being 250m.

Through the Investing in Canada infrastructure plan, the Canadian government is investing more than $136.5 billion over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes and Canada’s rural and northern communities.

More than $7.6 billion of this funding will support trade and transportation projects, including $3.8 billion that will be available for investment through the Canada Infrastructure Bank.