OTTAWA — A recent list of Canada’s top infrastructure projects for 2009 pegs the transportation and energy sectors as big beneficiaries of investment.

The $61 billion list gives a rundown of the top 100 infrastructure projects in Canada and nearly half of the private and public money will be spent on the top 10 projects – which includes three highway projects.

The top three projects are focused on the energy sector and will provide a boost to nuclear and hydro power in Ontario and Quebec, while other projects are geared towards public transit and pipeline projects.

Coming in at number seven, nine and 10, is the Port Mann/Highway 1 Project at $1.6 billion, the Autoroute 30 project in Montreal at $1.5 billion, and the Edmonton Ring Road project at $1.42 billion.

If the Canadian Trucking Alliance has its way, there’s going to be a lot more highway projects in the top 100.

According to the organization, if the federal government wants to help kick start our sputtering economy it needs, among other things, to make strategic investments in key highway and border crossing infrastructure.

“No one knows the roads of our country quite the way the trucking industry does,” says David Bradley, CEO of the CTA. “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 projects (for a full list click here) include highway improvements, bridge upgrades, and safety improvements across Canada.

“These projects do represent a significant undertaking – we understand that,” notes 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.”

— with files from Canwest