The Yukon is poised to receive a significant injection of cash over the next decade as the federal Liberals double down on their infrastructure spending plan.

Ottawa and the Yukon are expected to sign a funding agreement by March 31, 2018 that will see $592 million flow into local projects over a 10-year period.

Three-quarters of that amount will come from the federal government.

The remaining $148 million will be covered by the Yukon government.

“That’s a good news story,” Community Services Minister John Streicker said in an interview Tuesday.

The funding, which is new money set out in the 2017 federal budget, “alleviates pressure” on the Yukon government, said Streicker.

With at least three years of major deficits on the horizon, starting with an estimated $49 million in 2018, the Yukon may soon be forced to pass on major capital projects.

The Yukon Liberals plan to spend about $220 million a year on their capital program for the upcoming three years.

As for which projects will be supported by the new funds from Ottawa, and when the spending will start, it’s too early to say.

“We don’t have a list of priorities,” said Streicker.

The territorial government must meet with First Nations and municipal governments before such a list is drawn up.

Streicker emphasized that improving Yukon infrastructure will be a collaborative effort.

After the meetings with other governments, the territory will create a three-year, rolling plan.

This plan, which will be open to updates and amendments each year, will lay out the Yukon’s infrastructure priorities.

The infrastructure spending boost announced July 6 is part of the federal government’s Investing in Canada Plan, which is supposed to deliver $33 billion to the provinces and territories through bilateral funding agreements over 11 years.

The Yukon is slated to receive the following investments over the next decade (with 75 per cent of each amount coming from Ottawa, and 25 per cent supplied by the territorial government):

• $276 million for green infrastructure (such as sustainable energy projects);

• $269 million for projects that benefit rural and northern communities ($50 million of this will come out of the Arctic Energy Fund);

• $34 million for culture and recreation facilities; and

• $13 million for transit.

“I’m looking forward to working with communities to put these dollars to work in Yukon,” Streicker said in a statement last month.

“In our (2016 election) platform, we committed to invest in our communities using local solutions. We are ready to work together with First Nation and municipal governments to maximize the positive impact of these dollars. ”

If all goes according to plan, the money will flow with relative consistency from year to year, Streicker told the Star.

“(The federal government) is not trying to front-load or backload the money; it’ll flow pretty smoothly over time,” he said.

Though the Ross River suspension bridge seems like a prime target for infrastructure spending, it is actually ineligible for new federal funding.

The footbridge over the Pelly River has been out of commission since 2013, when an inspection revealed serious structural problems.

In 2014, the government committed to repairing the bridge, and earmarked $3 million to that end with $2.25 million of that coming out of the federal Small Communities Fund.

But repair plans ground to a halt last month when all bids on the contract came in over budget – by $1 million or more.

The bridge is barred from additional federal support because Ottawa is already covering 75 per cent of the original repair budget.

Under the Yukon’s agreement with Canada, the federal government will pay up to 75 per cent of the cost of a given infrastructure project, explained Brook Simpson, press secretary for Amarjeet Sohi, the federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities.

Funding may come out of one federal pool, such as the Small Communities Fund, or a combination of pools, but once a project is three-quarters funded, the project is cut off.

Cost overruns (such as those affecting the Ross River bridge) are the responsibility of the Yukon government, said Simpson.

“We didn’t budget enough money for it,” Streicker said of the suspension bridge. “That requires us to look internally to ourselves to fund it.”

He added that, “We’re not dragging our heels; we’ll be there soon.”