Canada and New Brunswick Celebrate the Opening of New Stone Ridge Bridge

Zealand, New Brunswick, October 23, 2010 – The replacement of the Upper Stone Ridge covered bridge is now benefiting the residents of the communities of Burtts Corner and Morehouse Corner, thanks to an investment from the governments of Canada and New Brunswick.

Mike Allen, Member of Parliament for Tobique-Mactaquac, and Kirk MacDonald, MLA for York-North on behalf of the Honourable Claude Williams, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, joined officials and members of the community to celebrate the official opening of the new structure, located close to five  from Route 104.

"Losing the Upper Stone Ridge covered bridge as a link between Burtts Corner and Morehouse Corner was a difficult experience for local residents," said MP Allen. "Our government is proud to have partnered with the province of New Brunswick to help rebuild this important bridge, which will contribute once again to the quality of life of all residents."

"Today's celebration shows the importance of maintaining key infrastructure in all corners of our province, including rural New Brunswick," said MLA MacDonald. "The Province of New Brunswick is proud to partner with the federal government in this most important community project."

This project involved replacing the historic Upper Stone Ridge covered bridge, built in 1914 and destroyed by fire in October 2008. It was the last covered bridge to span the Keswick River.

Department of Transportation crews assembled and installed a new modular panel bridge and finished the project five weeks ahead of schedule. This new structure will reduce travel time to destinations across the river and ensure that emergency responders and school buses will once again have a direct connection to homes on both sides of the river.

The Government of Canada is contributing $180,000 under the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund to support this initiative, with a matching contribution from New Brunswick. The total eligible cost of this project is $360,000.

As part of the Government of Canada's Economic Action Plan, the $4 billion Infrastructure Stimulus Fund is providing funding for approximately 4,000 infrastructure projects across the country. Overall, the Government of Canada has invested $91 million toward 59 projects under the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund across New Brunswick.

For more information, please visit Creating Jobs.

To learn more about Canada's Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.

Contacts:

John Babcock
Press Secretary
Office of Canada's Minister of Transport,Infrastructure and Communities
613-991-0700

Infrastructure Canada
613-948-1148
Toll free: 1-877-250-7154

Bruce Macfarlane
Regional DevelopmentCorporation
506-476-1376

Andrew Holland
Department of Transportation
506-453-5634