Liberals Talk Up Unusual Funding Model For Infrastructure

OTTAWA — The Trudeau government's newfound enthusiasm about a big Montreal transit proposal has given Canadians a glimpse at one way Ottawa could fund billions in public infrastructure, like roads, bridges and rail, over the long haul.

In recent days, senior Liberals have been talking up an unusual funding model for the $5.5-billion light-rail plan for Montreal, calling for a partnership that includes Ottawa and a public pension fund.

What Austerity Is Doing to Our Infrastructure

Talking about infrastructure is like a dentist appointment. No one wants to do it, but if we put it off, even more serious consequences are all but guaranteed down the road.

We didn't need the tragedy in Flint, Michigan, to prove that the foundation of our society -- our water systems, schools, transit, highways, and bridges -- is crumbling. But, according to a new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), now -- not down the road -- is the time to talk about infrastructure.

Will Trudeau’s infrastructure plan worsen the climate crisis?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau marked the Paris climate agreement by committing to take on the "tough work that still needs to be accomplished both at home and around the world to implement the agreement." Part of that tough work will be re-orienting federal funding to stop making the climate crisis worse.

Given Trudeau's statements on the seriousness of the climate crisis, you might expect that the multi-billion dollar infrastructure program he ran on in the election would already be targeted to reduce carbon pollution. You would be wrong.

California Bridge Passed Inspection Before Collapsing In Flash Flood

DESERT CENTER, Calif. (AP) — The interstate bridge that washed out in the desert between Los Angeles and Phoenix easily withstood its daily load of thousands of cars and trucks, but it failed when the pounding of a powerful flash flood scoured away land where the bridge was anchored, officials said Monday.

The flood severed a highway vital to the movement of people and commerce between two of the nation's largest cities. On an average day, Interstate 10 carries about 27,000 vehicles in either direction where the bridge failed.

Tories skip Ontario's infrastructure wish list, fund university expansion

The Conservative government has skipped over Ontario’s wish list of 106 infrastructure projects and instead announced millions of dollars toward expanding a university in a politically strategic area of the province.

As part of a recent wave of cash announcements from Ottawa’s New Building Canada Fund, the government said on Wednesday that it will contribute up to $26.9-million for a new research building at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in the Durham Region.

Data show Conservatives using infrastructure fund as campaign fodder: Goodale

OTTAWA - The federal government's marquee, multibillion-dollar infrastructure fund has been handing out money at a slow pace, newly released figures show, prompting complaints that the government is playing politics with the cash.

About 92 per cent of the $10-billion provincial-territorial stream of the New Building Canada Fund remains unspent, with about $782 million allocated through the start of this fiscal year, according to figures tabled in Parliament last month.

Infrastructure Canada, the department responsible for overseeing the cash, says that it may take some time to get the money out the door, especially given that the commitment is for a 10-year period.

Federal infrastructure fund spending favoured Conservative ridings

A federal infrastructure fund aimed at fixing up arenas and community centres was spent disproportionately in ridings represented by Conservative MPs, a Globe and Mail analysis shows, as the governing Tories prepare to roll out a nearly identical fund in the months before the fall election.

Ridings that elected Conservative members of Parliament in 2011 received, on average, 48 per cent more money from the $150-million Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund than ridings that elected opposition MPs, a Globe tally of more than 1,600 projects across Canada shows.

Questions mount about oversight of $2B federal infrastructure fund

A $2-billion federal infrastructure fund at the centre of the Conservative government’s 2009 Economic Action Plan was allotted to municipalities in select areas of the country with little apparent oversight, regulation, auditing or attempt to disperse the monies evenly across Canada.

The Municipal Infrastructure Loan Program (MILP) was administered by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. on behalf of the federal government. The $2 billion was to provide low-interest loans to help municipalities pay for infrastructure improvements. The program raised eyebrows in March when it was revealed that well over half the fund went to municipalities in Quebec.

House Republicans Aim to Cut Amtrak Funding the Day After Philadelphia Derailment

A New York–bound Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia last night, leaving at least six passengers dead and more than 200 injured. Department of Transportation and National Transportation Safety Board officials are investigating the reason for the accident, which is sure to be a flashpoint in an ongoing battle to upgrade the nation’s infrastructure.

WHY CAN'T AMERICA HAVE GREAT TRAINS?

Thirty-nine minutes into his southbound ride from Wilmington, Delaware, to Washington, D.C., Joseph H. Boardman, president and CEO of Amtrak, begins to cry. We're in the dining car of a train called the Silver Star, surrounded by people eating hamburgers. The Silver Star runs from New York City to Miami in 31 hours, or five more hours than the route took in 1958, which is when our dining car was built. Boardman and I have been discussing the unfortunate fact that 45 years since its inception, the company he oversees remains a poorly funded, largely neglected ward of the state, unable to fully control its own finances or make its own decisions. I ask him, "Is this a frustrating job?"

States Seek Alternatives For Highway, Bridge Funding

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Touted as one of the first interstate highways, a 200-mile span of Interstate 70 between suburban St. Louis and Kansas City stands as a prime example of the challenges facing the nation's roads.

Built in the 1950s and '60s with a 20-year-life expectancy, the four-lane highway is crumbling beneath its surface and clogged with traffic as it carries more than 30,000 vehicles a day on many of its rural stretches, requiring more frequent repaving. The cost to rebuild and widen it is estimated at $2 billion to $4 billion — as much as five times the projected yearly construction and maintenance budget of Missouri's transportation department.

Wynne blasts Oliver over infrastructure funds

TORONTO - Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is firing back at federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver, accusing him of playing the "blame game" on infrastructure funding.

Oliver accused the Ontario government on Monday of causing delays in Ottawa's plan to spend nearly $11 billion on infrastructure by not providing a list of projects the province wants to see funded.

But during a speech today to a conference on public-private partnerships, Wynne said Oliver's "rhetorical enthusiasm does not build bridges or ease congestion."

Parks Canada infrastructure worse than thought, report finds

OTTAWA—Parks Canada would have to almost triple its spending on infrastructure upkeep to bring its crumbling assets into good repair, according to an internal report obtained by the Star.

The report indicates the agency would have to spend $351 million a year to keep its assets in “an appropriate state of repair” over the course of their serviceable life. To address work that has been identified as required, but put off, Parks Canada would need to spend $191 million per year over a 15-year period.

Thousands of infrastructure projects in limbo as confusion plagues $14-billion federal funding program

OTTAWA — By now, municipalities and small communities across Canada had expected to see thousands of infrastructure projects taking shape. That hasn’t happened.

The federal government’s $14-billion construction program began last month, when the money earmarked for roads, bridges and many other new or crumbling services was supposed to land in local hands.

Or, so they had thought.

Cities say they weren’t consulted on new federal infrastructure funding rules

OTTAWA — Cities seeking fresh federal government infrastructure dollars may have some unexpected strings attached, based on new criteria unveiled Thursday by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The lobby group representing Canadian cities, the Federation of the Canadian Municipalities, said the new criteria came as a surprise and has prompted concerns the government would reduce access to some funds for local roads, as well as imposing new caps on the amount of federal money – from a multibillion dollar infrastructure fund — that could be used for each project.

Bridge Safety: Many U.S. Spans Are Old, Risky And Rundown

WASHINGTON — The United States has so many bridges in need of repair or replacement, and so little money to do the work, that state and local officials say they are engaged in a kind of transportation triage: They fix the most important and vulnerable spans first, nurse along others and, when there's no hope, order a shutdown.

Many of today's aging bridges carry more vehicles than they were originally expected to handle; truckloads that pass over are much heavier, too. Many also are years past their designed life expectancy.

Toronto’s infrastructure crisis: What will it take to restore the city?

Infrastructure’s not what it used to be. In Toronto, most of it is old and getting older. Even worse, it is no longer the heroic mission of a proud city, but a burden no one wants to shoulder.

Though we’ve had good times and bad, Toronto has never been able to wrap its collective brain around infrastructure issues. A local plebiscite turned down a subway as far back as 1912, an act of singular short-sightedness that hampers the city to this day.

Federal infrastructure spending faces delays, new report says

OTTAWA — The Parliamentary Budget Office says the federal government is spending hundreds of millions of dollars less each year on infrastructure than it had planned, with only half of the $8.8 billion from the “Building Canada Fund” projected to be spent over a seven-year period.

The NDP argues the government is playing a “shell game” with taxpayer dollars and actually cutting new infrastructure spending nearly $2 billion next year by hiding existing program cash in the new Building Canada plan.

Infrastructure funding a "shell game," says Rae

An infrastructure funding announcement made Friday by Egmont MP Gail Shea can be described as a "shell game," says interim federal Liberal leader Bob Rae.

During an interview Saturday with The Guardian, Rae questioned Shea's announcement of the federal government pumping $400 million into P.E.I. over the next 10 years.

Budget 2013: Austerity through infrastructure cuts

One of the most amazing things about this budget is that one of its three focuses is actually the opposite of what it's touting. You'll likely hear that $14 billion will be spent on infrastructure over the next 10 years (actually you may hear much bigger numbers, but they're just re-announcing existing programs like the gas tax transfer). What you won't hear is that 75 per cent of that money is going to be spent in or after 2020. In fact, there will be an affective $1 billion cut to infrastructure transfers to the cities in 2014-15.