A $100-million interchange in Red Deer will be one of nearly 600 transportation projects the Alberta government plans to spend billions of dollars on over the next few years.

Premier Rachel Notley and Transportation Minister Brian Mason personally announced the new interchange, to be built at Gaetz Avenue and the Queen Elizabeth II Highway, as they continued to tout the budget their government tabled last week.

The capital plan in that budget includes $7 billion in highway-related projects over the next five years, which the premier described as a central plank in her strategy to create jobs and stimulate the economy.

"This is a time when materials are reasonably priced and Albertans are looking to our government for leadership in providing the jobs that will help them weather the economic storm," she said.

Hundreds of people will be employed in building the new interchange, Notley said, and the project should be complete in time for the 2019 Canada Winter Games, which Red Deer will host.

The interchange will separate low-speed from high-speed traffic where the QEII meets the City of Red Deer and "vastly improve ease of travel along this entire section of the highway," the premier added.

About 42,000 vehicles per day travel on the QEII in both directions at the existing interchange with Gaetz Avenue, according to the latest traffic counts from Alberta Transportation.