Some southern Albertans are raising questions about why U.S. construction companies are being sub-contracted to work on projects in southern Alberta.

In one case, a Montana company, Riverside Contracting, whose home office is Missoula, Montana, is working on a paving job north of Granum.

The sight of U.S. license plates on the equipment doesn't sit well with some southern Albertans who wonder why U.S. workers are being hired at a time when the unemployment rate is rising and jobs are supposedly scarce.

The American workers tell CTV News there are just no highway jobs in Montana right now. They say when times are tight, the first thing the federal and state governments cut back on are infrastructure projects.

Officials with Riverside Contracting declined to do an interview, saying they just want to finish the job, stay low-key, and avoid the politics.

According to the company website, Riverside Contracting is one of the largest highway contractors in Montana, with revenues in excess of $75-million per year.

CTV News has learned there are only 10 American workers on the Granum project. The other 10 workers, including the flag person and labourers, have been hired locally.

Heather Kaszuba, a spokesperson for Alberta Transportation, says all projects are based on the lowest bid and that it's up to the main contractor to hire sub-contractors.

"Our contracts are open to any qualified companies that wish to bid on them. The key here though is that the work being done meets Alberta regulations and rules for our highways, construction regulations, safety regulations, for instance, the licensing safety and equipment that they're using, they need to meet Alberta regulations so they can operate safely on our highways."

The main contractor on the project is Calgary-based Calibre Systems. Their project manager was not available for comment.

Local paving contractors tell CTV News they're not overly concerned because they're extremely busy right now. They say there has been no slowdown in business, despite the recession.

Granum Mayor, Melva Stinson, says local residents tell her they're happy the highway paving project is finally underway.