In The News

Billions in transport spending part of US stimulus deal

WASHINGTON -- Soon-to-be U.S. President Barack Obama will come out of the gates spending.

According to U.S. media, House of Representatives Democrats unveiled today $90 billion infrastructure spending package, with the bulk of the cash going toward highway and bridge construction as well facelifts for older public buildings.

Road projects, railroads and airports will get about $44 billion over two years, with $30 billion slated for highways and bridges.

Vital northeast trade corridors were specifically mentioned by officials, which, considering the geographical location, could be good news for cross-border truckers in central Canada and the Maritimes.

About $1 billion is earmarked for projects to improve border security, such as more inspection technology to scan cargo at land and seaports for weapons of mass destruction.

Obama's pre-election Keynesian economic platform was based on spending billions in infrastructure to stimulate a spiraling U.S. economy.

The plan has been criticized by some fiscal conservatives, but it also came under fire by the Laborers' International Union of North America, which complained the package wasn't large enough.

"This level of investment falls far short of needs and fails to fully take advantage of the opportunity to put America back to work building the essential and long neglected basics of our country," LIUNA General President Terence M. O'Sullivan said in a statement.

More than 5,000 such projects have been previously approved and are "ready-to-go," Democrats say.

-- with files from Dow Jones Newswires