A City of Winnipeg working group has released its final list of recommendations for road construction.
The final report suggests the city use more pre-qualified contractors and master service agreements, implement a multi-year construction program with multi-year budgeting and extend working hours, including planning for more 24-7 construction.
The report also recommends better planning and communication when it comes to more effective traffic flow and lane closures in order to minimize disruptions to people who use the city’s roads, including motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.
“Our city’s population is growing, is projected to grow steadily and strongly into the future, and with that growth comes increased demand for not only new infrastructure but also on existing infrastructure,” said Mayor Brian Bowman.
“These increased demands, together with ongoing funding uncertainty from the provincial government, require us to continually examine ways to build our city better, smarter and more efficiently.”
The working group, chaired by St. Boniface Coun. Matt Allard, included the heads of the Winnipeg Construction Association, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and Winnipeg Public Works.
The group had four meetings over the summer leading up to the creation of the eight-page report and intends to reconvene to review progress and evaluate road construction improvements.
WATCH: It has been done before, says Bowman of 24/7 construction