Major road and bridge projects going smoothly

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Joe Bryksa / Winnipeg Free Press Did you know the Osborne Street Bridge is actually two bridges? The project will be done Oct. 17.

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WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The new $195-million link between Elmwood and downtown is shaping up. All four lanes of the new Disraeli Freeway are slated to open Oct. 19.

Winnipeg motorists should be free of barricades on the Disraeli Freeway and Osborne Bridge in less than two months, as all of the city's major road and bridge projects are on schedule this construction season.

The city is overseeing seven road and bridge projects with a price tag of more than $1 million this year. All are on schedule and on budget thanks to relatively dry weather as well as bonus incentives for a pair of the projects, senior city engineers said.

The biggest job of all, the $195-million Disraeli Freeway reconstruction, is slated to open for vehicular traffic on Oct. 19, said Brad Neirinck, Winnipeg's bridge planning and operations engineer. The $17.2-million Osborne Street Bridge reconstruction will open two days earlier, he said.

The largest road project, the extension of Kenaston Boulevard toward the Perimeter Highway, is also on schedule, although it will not be completed until 2013, said Lester Deane, the city's engineering manager. The extension is part of a $54.3-million package of new roads that will service Waverley West.

Here's an update on all seven major projects:

Disraeli Bridge & Overpass

Cost: $195 million

What's up: Reconstruction of the link between downtown and Elmwood involves the completion of the new bridge over the Red River, a new Point Douglas overpass and a bike and pedestrian bridge using existing bridge supports.

The latest: All four lanes of traffic are slated to open on schedule on Oct. 19. The last bit of construction is tricky because part of the new bridge overlaps with the old one and the contractor is required to keep two lanes of traffic open during weekdays. Crews will start to tear down the old bridge in late October. Demolition is expected to take about a month. The bike-and-pedestrian bridge will be completed in 2013.

Waverley West roads

Cost: $54.3 million

What's up: The construction of new roads through south Winnipeg's largest new suburb.

The latest: Contractors are extending Kenaston Boulevard from Bishop Grandin Boulevard to Waverley West's future 'town centre.' Design work is underway on the remaining stretch -- to the Perimeter Highway -- with construction slated to be finished in 2013.

Osborne Street Bridge

Cost: $17.2 million

What's up: Reconstruction of the bridge over the Assiniboine River.

The latest: Little-known fact: The Osborne Street Bridge is two separate bridges. There's a five-cm gap between the two sides of traffic, and crews will work to fill it in with concrete and finish the median before the bridge rehabilitation is complete on Oct. 17. Construction crews have already removed and replaced the top surface of the bridge, widened the sidewalks and the roadway, and installed concrete traffic barriers.

Sturgeon Road Bridge

Cost: $15.2 million

What's up: Replacement of the bridge over Sturgeon Creek.

The latest: Crews are replacing the existing bridge with two twin bridges. Work started in May and crews have demolished part of the eastern portion of the northbound bridge. They're putting in piles and structural concrete so a new northbound bridge can be in place by November.

By next summer, the rest of the southbound half of the bridge will be torn down and a new southbound one will be built. The new bridges will be three metres higher than the old bridge to allow for a creekside bike and pedestrian path.

Dugald Road

Cost: $2.1 million

What's up: Renewal of the westbound lane, from Mazenod Road to Lagimodiere Boulevard.

The latest: Originally slated for an Oct. 8 completion, but is expected to be done in the last week of September.

Fort Street

Cost: $2.1 million

What's up: Renewal of the downtown block between Graham and Portage avenues.

The latest: Following a watermain replacement, work on the road renewal began on Monday. The contractor has until Oct. 19 to complete the work and will receive a bonus of $3,000 per day for every day the work is completed ahead of schedule, up to a maximum of $30,000.

St. James Street

Cost: $1.3 million

What's up: Renewal between Sargent and Wellington avenues.

The latest: Slated to be finished three days early, on Sept. 14. The contractor will receive a bonus of $5,000 per day for each day the work is completed ahead of schedule.

jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 21, 2012 B1