BIF Project Descriptions

Projects by Province:

• British Columbia
• Saskatchewan
• Ontario
• Quebec
• New Brunswick
• CAN-SIM

British Columbia

Improvements to Knight Street in Vancouver (announced commitment of $2 million)
To construct left turn bays for all approaches at 6th Avenue, 33rd Avenue, 49th Avenue and 57th Avenue. Knight Street is the most heavily used truck route in Vancouver and is a key regional connection between Vancouver, Richmond, Delta, Surrey and the United States.

Lower Mainland Border Crossing (announced commitment of $88 million)
This contribution helps reduce bottlenecks at the Douglas/Blaine and Huntingdon/Sumas border crossing, which are two of Canada's major border crossings, while making them safer than ever.

Saskatchewan

North portal Border crossing & Highway Approaches (announced commitment of $5 million)
This major contribution toward twinning helps accelerate the twinning schedule, save lives, and increase economic opportunities in Saskatchewan. The project rehabilitates segments of the highway between Weyburn and the US Border to ensure the consistent movement of people and freight between Canada and US.

Ontario

Fort Erie Peace Bridge Approaches (announced commitment of $21 million)
The Peace Bridge in Fort Erie is Canada's third busiest crossing for passenger vehicles and trucks. At the bridge, there will be security and technology enhancements and upgrades to the commercial vehicle processing centre.

Niagara and Sarnia (announced commitment of $133 million)
In addition to improvements for drivers and residents in the Niagara area, this project reduces traffic congestion and improves trade for Canadian businesses who rely on the QEW as the major trade corridor for Canada-U.S. border crossings. This project helps reduce congestion and improve the transportation infrastructure in the Niagara region.

Windsor Gateway (announced commitment of $150 million)
Windsor is the single-most important border crossing point between Canada and the U.S. More than 20 million cars, trucks and buses travel through the city each year, representing approximately 33% of Canada-U.S. truck trade. In 2001 alone, this two-way merchandise trade totalled over CDN$140 billion. As Canada's automotive industry heartland and a major economic hub for the Province of Ontario, Windsor's economy is intricately linked with the international border crossing.

Windsor - VACIS (announced commitment of $4.1 million)
The VACIS system is an effective, safe and flexible means of detection. It scans the contents of freight cars as trains roll by at no more than 7 to 10 km per hour, causing minimal disruption to the flow of goods at border crossing inspection stations. A one-mile long train can be scanned in about 10 minutes.

Quebec

Autoroute-55 (announced commitment of $7.5 million)
This priority for highway infrastructure funding involves the construction of a third highway lane along a 2 km stretch towards the border to accommodate trucks waiting to enter the U.S., and includes the redesign of the intersection of Highway 247, and the installation of intelligent transportation systems to manage traffic and construction of a highway control area.

Highway 35 (announced commitment of $13 million)
This priority for highway infrastructure funding involves extending Highway 35 between Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Philipsburgh, at the Vermont border. The purpose is to complete the highway system in the trade corridor between Montréal and Boston and improve safety.

Route-173 /Autoroute 73 (announced commitment of $51.5 million)
Highway 73 and Highway 173 are located along the Quebec-Maine border route. This priority for highway infrastructure funding involves the construction of a 34.6 km section of Highway 73 located between Saint-Joseph and Saint-Georges. The part between Saint-Georges and the Maine border includes improvements to the present Highway 173.

New Brunswick

St-Stephen (announced commitment of $30 million)
At St. Stephen, the new crossing increases border efficiency and significantly eases congestion by taking international truck traffic out of the downtown area.

CAN-SIM

(announced commitment of $3 million)