Canada’s Ontario Government has announced a $23.8m (C$30m) investment for repairing roads and bridges across 14 municipalities.

Under its Connecting Links Programme, the government will provide up to 90% of eligible project costs to the municipalities.

The funding will be used for designing, building, renewing, rehabilitating and replacing roads and bridges that link two ends of a provincial highway through a community or to a border crossing.

The maximum amount of funding available for road projects is £3m, while the maximum available for road projects is $5m.

Municipalities have been encouraged to apply for funding under the programme, which will be open to applications later this year.

Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney said: “By investing in our roads and bridges we’re connecting people to jobs, supporting the movement of goods and creating economic growth in local communities.

“This funding not only helps municipalities maintain local infrastructure, but also supports projects that make roads safer, such as improvements to pedestrian crossings.”

Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Monte McNaughton said: “This year’s budget provides significant support to families, workers and businesses.

“This includes upgrading critical infrastructure in Lambton Shores, a tourism hub for much of south-western Ontario, with the replacement and widening of the Ontario Street bridge in Grand Bend, which will bring significant economic growth to our community for many years to come.”

In July, the government announced that it would expand and improve highways, roads and bridges across the north of the state with a C$625m ($460m) investment.

The government would focus initially on building passing lanes and improving signs and lighting.

It said the four-laning of Highway 69 south of Sudbury would continue, as would the four-laning of Highway 17 between Kenora and the Manitoba border.