Feds offer $27.6M for Manitoba infrastructure projects

WINNIPEG - The long-sought amalgamation of Sturgeon Creek and Silver Heights community centres, 37 Winnipeg bike-and-pedestrian trails and a recycling facility in Thompson are among $83 million worth of new infrastructure projects planned for Manitoba.

In a Friday afternoon announcement aimed at clearing up loose ends before Parliament goes back to work, senior Manitoba MP Vic Toews joined up with his provincial and municipal counterparts to unveil a lengthy list of Manitoban projects that will be aided by federal infrastructure funds.

The projects include road-renewal work in 15 municipalities, two solid-waste upgrades, 16 sewage improvements, four recreational upgrades and no less than $20 million in spending on trails in Winnipeg.

Ottawa will contribute $27.6 million to the total kitty, while Manitoba is responsible for $28.3 million.

Manitoba municipalities and private funders will cover the remaining $27.3 million cost of the projects.

The announcement follows "months of negotiations," said Toews, adding future announcements involving other projects could be threatened by a federal election this fall.

The most significant project in Winnipeg is the Sturgeon Creek/Silver Heights community centre amalgamation, the top priority on Winnipeg's recreation-funding list.

Work on the $4.5 million project is slated to begin in April 2010.

Projects to be funded under the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund

Community Centres and Cultural Infrastructure (more than $16 million in total eligible costs)

• Stonewall - Quarry Park Heritage Arts Centre
• Silver Heights/Sturgeon Creek Community Centre Amalgamation
• Lubavitch Centre
• Neechi Commons Community Business Complex

Local Roads and Highway Infrastructure (more than $14 million in total eligible costs)

• RM of Rosser - King Edward Reclaimed Asphalt
• RM of Reynolds - Lenchuk Creek Bridge Replacement
• RM of Langford - Culvert Replacement and Road Renewal on PR Road 85W
• Altona - 14th Avenue NE Hard Surfacing and Intersection Improvements
• Minitonas Bridge Repair and Improvement Project
• RM of Morris - Rosemor Industrial Park Infrastructure
• RM of Rosser – Grosse Isle Asphalt Paving
• RM of Bifrost - Municipal Road Upgrade
• RM of Swan River - Potten Drive Area Paving
• RM of St. Laurent - Municipal Road Upgrading
• Town of Ste. Rose du Lac
• City of Thompson - Asphalite Renewal Process
• RM of Tache - Gendron Road Redevelopment
• RM of Coldwell - Asphalt Paving
• PTH 2 Paving West Limit RM of South Norfolk to PR 244

Solid Waste Management (nearly $1 million in total eligible costs)

• City of Thompson Recycling Facility Expansion
• RM of Shoal Lake - Oakburn Lagoon

Water and Wastewater Infrastructure (nearly $32 million in total eligible costs)

• Niverville - Water Treatment Plant Upgrade
• Town of Ste. Anne - Sewer System Upgrade
• Winnipegosis - Lift Station Upgrades
• St. Francois Xavier - Cartier Regional Co-op Plant Upgrades
• Cooks Creek - Trans Canada Prairie Grove Drain Reconstruction
• Stonewall - Water Main Expansion and assoc Street Renewal
• RM of North Cypress - Brookdale Sewer System
• Macdonald - Sanford Water Treatment Plant Conversion and Expansion
• RM of Lakeview - Langruth Water Treatment Plant
• RM of Louise - LUD of Clearwater Water Treatment Plant
• Norway House Wastewater Collection and Water Distribution Renewal
• RM of Whitemouth - Elma Water and Wastewater
• St. Lazare – Water Treatment Plant Upgrade
• Emerson – Wastewater Treatment Upgrade
• Crystal City – Wastewater Stabilization Pond Expansion and Upgrade
• Gilbert Plains and Grandview - Town Reservoirs

Parks and Trails – City of Winnipeg (more than $20 million in total eligible costs)

• Eugenie/Des Muerons Bikeway
• Kildonan Golf Course Pathway
• Somerville to Seal Pathway
• Dugald Pathway
• Brazier/Roch Bikeway
• Assiniboine Bikeway
• Dakota/Dunkirk Pathway Phase I
• Sherwin Road Pathway
• Moray Street Pathway
• Omand's Creek BridgeHarrow Street Bikeway
• Ellice/St. Matthews Bikeway
• Bannatyne/McDermont Bikeway
• Grosvenor Bikeway
• Pritchard Bikeway
• Silver Avenue Bikeway
• Wilkes Avenue Pathway
• Sherbrook/Maryland Bike Lanes
• Machray Bikeway
• Seine River Pathway
• St. Charles/Flora Bikeway
• Jubilee Bikeway
• Dakota/Dunkirk Pathway Phase II
• Nassau Bikeway
• Hay Street Bikeway
• Lagimodiere Pathway
• Fleet/Warsaw Bikeway
• St. Mary Avenue Bike Lane
• Transcona Trail Phase I
• Archibald Pathway
• Waverley Pathway
• Berry Street Bikeway
• Kildare Avenue Bikeway
• York Avenue Bike Lanes
• Alexander/Pacific Bikeway
• Transcona Trail Phase II
• Bison Drive Pathway