What $86 million worth of roadwork buys Winnipeg
Bartley Kives | CBC News | Posted: March 5, 2019 11:00 AM | Last Updated: March 5, 2019
The road renewal budget is down, but here's what will be fixed this summer, regardless
On budget day in Winnipeg, the big piece of bad news for the city was a reduction in the road-renewal budget, from $116 million last year to $86 million proposed for 2019.
Mayor Brian Bowman said provincial funding gave him no choice but to cut the road-renewal budget. Chris Lorenc of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association warned the cut would imperil the provincial economy.
But just in case motorists see a bright side to the cut and expect their summer commute to be more free of construction, well, sorry: $86 million still buys a lot of roadwork in a city the size of Winnipeg.
Fermor Avenue is due to receive the largest chunk of that cash. Here's what the 2019 budget envisions for road repairs:
1. Regional street reconstructions and major rehabilitations
There's $61.6 million set aside next year to tear up and rebuild the following heavily used routes:
- Fermor Avenue: $17.4 million for reconstruction between Lagimodiere Boulevard and Plessis Road and between St. Anne's Road and Archibald Street.
- Main Street, northbound: $6.5 million from McAdam Avenue north to Kildonan Park Golf Course.
- Roblin Boulevard, westbound: $4.9 million from Shaftesbury Boulevard to Assiniboine Park Drive.
- Garry Street/Notre Dame Boulevard: $4.8 million from Notre Dame Avenue to Assiniboine Avenue and from Portage Avenue to to Princess Street.
- Inkster Boulevard: $4.6 million from Fife Street to Milner Street.
- Corydon Avenue: $3.3 million westbound from Cordova Street to Lanark Street and eastbound from Borebank Street to Brock Street.
- Ellice Avenue: $3.1 million between Arlington Street and Maryland Street.
- Memorial Boulevard $2.6 million from York Avenue to St. Mary Avenue and St. Mary northbound to Portage Avenue
- Empress Street/St. Matthews Street/Eastway: $2.5 million from St. Matthews Avenue to Portage Avenue
- Colony Street: $1.8 million Portage Avenue to Ellice Avenue.
- St. James Street: $2 million between Sargent Avenue and Ellice Avenue.
- Other downtown streets: $1.5 million in total.
- Stafford Street/Taylor Avenue/Corydon Avenue: $1.3 million for Stafford from Corydon to Pembina Highway, Taylor from Wilton Street to Pembina and Corydon west of Stafford.
- Erin Street/Wall Street/Sargent Avenue: $1.3 million for Erin between Notre Dame Avenue and Wolever Avenue, Wall between Notre Dame and St. Matthews Avenue and Sargent between Erin and Arlington Street.
- Archibald Street: $1.25 million from St. Catherine Street to Cottonwood Road and from Plinguet Street to Doucet Street.
- Watt Street/Munroe Avenue/Johnson Avenue West: $1.25 million for Watt south of Munroe, Munroe between Henderson Highway and Raleigh Street and Johnson between Henderson and Levis Street
- York Avenue: $800,000 from Osborne Street to Memorial Boulevard
- Roblin Boulevard: $400,000 from Dieppe Street to the Perimeter.
- Portage Avenue, eastbound: $250,000 from St. Charles Street to David Street.
2. 'Mill and fill' work
The city also plans to replace the top layer of two other major streets:
- Lagimodiere Boulevard, southbound: $100,000 from Regent Avenue West to Almey Avenue.
- Memorial Boulevard, northbound: $400,000 from Portage Avenue to St. Mary Avenue.
3. Local street renewals
The city will spend $21.9 million this year rebuilding residential streets. This is down from $60.3 million in 2018.
The public works department decides which residential streets to fix after consulting with councillors for each ward.
4. Gravel roads
There's $2.7 million set aside this year for what the city calls "granular roadways," including the southern stretch of Waverley Street. That's down from $3 million in 2018.