The province is spending $700,000 to see just how much the widening of Kenaston Boulevard will cost.
At a Thursday press conference, Premier Heather Stefanson said the cash will go toward the planning and design of Route 90, which the city of Winnipeg wants to see widened, repaired, and added to.
The city estimated the project will cost upwards of $600 million, and the design study will run $1.4 million. Almost $3 million was also earmarked for the project in the municipal 2023 budget, part of which will be used for a return-on-investment analysis.
In a previous interview, Mayor Scott Gillingham said the project is a need, not a want.
“This road in its current condition is in really bad shape,” Gillingham said earlier this month.
The mayor said “almost 70 per cent” of the money set aside for the project is to address repairs, not the proposed widening.
Preliminary design changes for the road include adding lanes, making repairs to the St. James Bridge, closing connections into River Heights, and adding a pathway for cyclists and pedestrians.
On Thursday, Gillingham addressed rumours that the project wouldn’t get support from other levels of government.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates that that is not true,” he said.
Stefanson called Route 90 an “infrastructure corridor” of the city.
Gillingham thanked the province for its response to the project, which was identified as a strategic priority earlier this week, Gillingham said.
The province’s money comes from its infrastructure basket which it doles out to various projects.