Training agreement signed for construction of long-awaited highway
CBC News | Posted: June 24, 2009 8:33 PM | Last Updated: June 25, 2009
The plan for a major road on the east side of Lake Winnipeg moved a step closer to reality on Wednesday after the Manitoba government committed $11 million for training and pre-construction costs.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Berens River First Nation and the East Side Road Authority Inc., a government agency created to oversee the project.
The road will stretch from Manigotagan to Berens River, a distance of about 150 kilometres, and permanently link First Nations communities with a long-awaited all-season road. At present, access to the area is limited to winter ice roads and air travel.
'You look at what these people pay for food, you look at what it costs them to get in and out for medical services. Being able to drive in and out of here will be a major step forwards for these folks.' —Ernie Gilroy, East Side Road Authority CEO
Ernie Gilroy, CEO of the East Side Road Authority, said the project will change the lives of residents in the area.
"You look at what these people pay for food, you look at what it costs them to get in and out for medical services. Being able to drive in and out of here will be a major step forwards for these folks."
The east side road will also connect those communities to the province's southern highways, which will enhance the economic development opportunities for the region, said Berens River Chief George Kemp.
The road will lower transportation costs in his community, boost the logging industry and open the pristine area to tourism, he said.
"I think it's going to represent a lot of opportunities for our three communities — Hollow Water, Berens River and Bloodvein — in terms of immediate development and catching us up to the rest of Canada, if you will, in terms of having proper infrastructure in our communities," he said.
The project is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars and include 11 bridges. The cost will be shared between the provincial and federal governments.
Under the terms of the memorandum, the East Side Road Authority Inc. will establish a construction training program later this year and in 2010, in preparation for the start of the project in spring 2010.
Between 50 and 70 residents of Berens River First Nation will be given the opportunity to get training for gravel crushing, right-of-way clearing and road construction.
Prior to the start of construction, an environmental impact assessment must take place and receive federal and provincial authorization. As part of that project, a public open house is being held at the Winnipeg Convention Centre on Thursday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Provincial officials say the first leg of the project will take three years to complete. It is the initial leg in a planned road that will one day stretch all the way to Oxford House.