OTTAWA, Ont. — As the feds prepare a make-or-break budget to be released later this month, the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) has weighed in and suggested infrastructure projects should be a priority.

CTA has presented an action list it says will boost the economy and improve efficiencies.

“The Government of Canada has made it clear that it sees investment in infrastructure as an effective way to provide short-term stimulus to economic activity while providing long-term advantages to Canadians,” said CTA CEO David Bradley.

“No one knows the roads of our country quite the way the trucking industry does. In order to help government make key decisions about new or accelerated investments, we have consulted with the provincial trucking associations and motor carriers from across the country to identify the priority projects in all regions of the country that will help stimulate the economy and improve the flow of goods across this country.”

The CTA’s priority list includes highway, bridge and safety improvements from coast to coast.

“These projects do represent a significant undertaking – we understand that,” added Bradley. “By developing this list, we want to offer government a starting point for some of the tough decisions they have to make in this area. We have to be strategic.”

Suggested projects range from four-laning the Trans-Canada from Kamloops, B.C. to the Alberta border right through to twinning Route 185 from the New Brunswick border to Riviere du Loup in the east. In Ontario, the CTA renewed calls for a second bridge at Windsor and twinning of the Trans-Canada Hwy. from North Bay to Manitoba.

For the full list, visit www.cantruck.com.