Pembina underpass reopens ahead of schedule, under budget

Renovations to the Pembina Highway Underpass opened Friday, coming in eight weeks ahead of schedule.

The newly widened and reconstructed underpass is aimed at improving safety, traffic flow and travel times.

The city said Friday that construction wrapped early and the project – which was initially expected to cost $580 million – is expected to come in nearly $160 million under budget thanks to savings through a public-private partnership and lower construction costs.

The underpass project is part of the larger Southwest Transitway development – a high-speed roadway for buses that will complete a link from the city’s downtown to its southwest area.

Mayor Brian Bowman called the upgrade a major improvement for the underpass users – vehicular or otherwise.

“With a third northbound lane added, dedicated pedestrian and cycle corridors on both sides of the underpass, and improved land drainage, these upgrades will keep Winnipeggers moving for many, many years into the future,” he said.

Bus service on the Southwest Transit way is expected to begin in spring 2020.

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