Province commits to share cost to study Route 90 design
MANITOBA taxpayers will foot half of the $1.4-million bill to conduct a design study for an expanded Route 90.
Premier Heather Stefanson announced Thursday that the Manitoba government will contribute $700,000 to the City of Winnipeg to move the proposed project into its next phase.
“Infrastructure corridors like Route 90 support new housing and business development in Winnipeg and promotes industry and trade, allowing for quicker access to business areas, such as CentrePort and the Winnipeg airport,” Stefanson told reporters gathered in a field just west of Kenaston Boulevard.
The funding covers 50 per cent of the city’s identified costs for the project’s next phase, the province said.
Widening Route 90 between Taylor and Ness Avenues was identified as a strategic infrastructure priority by the city council in 2011. An estimated 40,000 vehicles use the stretch of road each day.
City hall has proposed widening the street to offer three lanes in each direction, add active transportation pathways on both sides and update aging infrastructure, including sewers and the St. James Bridge.
A preliminary estimate predicts the project will cost about $550 million, with the majority of that budget dedicated to bridge and road renewal and sewer upgrades to prevent spills into the Assiniboine River.
However, final design and analysis work could change the price tag.
On Thursday, Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham shot back at critics of the project, saying the infrastructure upgrades are critical to improving active transportation and Winnipeg Transit networks to meet growing traffic demand, and to the development of Naawi-Oodena at the former Kapyong barracks site.
“There has been a lot of misinformation about this project shared online and in editorial pages over the past few weeks,” said Gillingham, who campaigned on a pledge to expand the roadway so long as a business case exists.
However, the proposal has received pushback from sustainable transportation advocates who argue the development will increase the use of personal vehicles and undermine efforts to combat climate change.
“Some of the information that I’m hearing out there… it’s incorrect,” he said.
The federal government has also acknowledged the importance of the project, he said.
An updated business case analysis and cost estimates are expected to be completed this calendar year, he said.
“With the help of the Province of Manitoba, we will do the work necessary to improve the project ahead and to move this project forward,” he said.
Stefanson said she supports the project moving forward but appropriate analysis must be conducted before any additional provincial dollars can be committed to the expansion.