The Manitoba government says it will contribute cash toward a project which would see a main vein in the city’s northwest quadrant extended.
Premier Heather Stefanson announced $700,000 will help to look at extending Chief Peguis Trail from Main Street to Brookside Boulevard, a concept that’s been discussed at city hall for decades.
“(We) have clearly heard from people in the north part of Winnipeg … who want to see Chief Peguis Trail completed,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said at a press conference announcing the cash for a feasibility study.
Gillingham said the extension would move heavy truck traffic away from neighbouring residential streets and to a corridor connecting the north and south sides of the city.
The project has gone through many procedural steps, to no avail yet.
In 2012, council approved a motion to prioritize the project, and in 2017 it presented a preliminary design of the 10 kilometer extension.
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In 2019, council again voted to prioritize the project with other major capital projects.
Gillingham said the first mention of extending the roadway to connect other areas of the city to the northwest dates as far back as the 1960s.
The current estimated cost of the project is $486 million, a city spokesperson said.
The announcement comes one week after the province announced it would give $700,000 to study the widening and expansion of Kenaston Boulevard.
The Kenaston and Chief Peguis projects were two of Gillingham’s campaign promises during the 2022 municipal election.
The province set aside $160 million in basket funding for municipal infrastructure projects in its 2023 budget.