In spring 2022, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DTI) shared its first 3-Year Capital Investment Plan, called The Road Ahead. This plan outlined how DTI would build, repair and maintain the province’s assets – roads, bridges, culverts, and ferries.
The Road Ahead is a 3-year rolling plan and each year the department releases a new edition which outlines investments for the three subsequent years. The 2024 edition of The Road Ahead is the third release and outlines planned transportation projects for the fiscal years 2024-2025 to 2026-2027.
Publishing this 3-year plan is a way for DTI to show transparency and responsibility regarding future projects.
Benefits include:
- DTI has a clear plan for projects over the next three years.
- Industry can get ready for upcoming projects. Knowing about these projects in advance helps in more efficient delivery of capital programs.
- The public is informed on the status of completed and ongoing projects and comment on changes.
- $ 1.5 Billion is planned to be invested over the next three years. This plan forms the basis for the multi-year budget and helps the government understand how much money is required to finance these projects and programs.
DTI is responsible for a significant portion of the Government of New Brunswick’s infrastructure. This includes the following:
18,000 km of highways
5,500 bridges and large culverts
8 river ferries and 7 river crossings
5 coastal ferries and 3 crossings
4,200 fleet vehicles
380 government-owned buildings and 142 leases
13,000 radio units
55 tower sites
Short-line rail oversight
The 3-Year Capital Investment Plan details DTI’s expected investments in our transportation assets – highways, bridges, large culverts and the provincial ferry network. The projects under this plan do not include public-private partnership (P3) projects.
As shown in the figure below, approximately $1.528 million is planned to be invested over the next 3 years in transportation projects. This budget breakdown is subject to change annually, depending on yearly budget approvals.
Three Year Capital Program Planned Budget ($ millions)
Total: $1,528
Highway Program ($953)
Federal/Provincial Program ($204)
Bridge Program ($291)
PMHP Program ($80)
In the figure above, the Bridge Program provides funding for the construction of Bridges, Ferries and Ferry Landings. The Highway Program provides funding for the construction and upgrading of Provincial Highways. The Federal-Provincial Program provides funding for cost-sharing agreements between New Brunswick and the Federal Government for the construction and upgrading of Highways and Bridges. The Provincial-Municipal Highway Partnership (PMHP) is a program between DTI and municipalities, which was formally known as Municipal Designated Highway Program (MDH). The PMHP provides funding to support rehabilitation and repairs to Provincially Designated Highways within municipalities.