Province moves to build Duff Roblin Provincial Park

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This article was published 31/05/2019 (2637 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s been more than a decade in the making, but work is finally set to begin this year developing a 138-acre tract of land south of Winnipeg in honour of former Manitoba premier Duff Roblin.

Sustainable Development Minister Rochelle Squires announced Friday the province would spend $2 million on the project. The goal is to have work completed in time for Manitoba’s 150th anniversary celebrations in 2020.

The land surrounding the Red River Floodway inlet control structure has been designated as Duff Roblin Provincial Park for more than a decade, but it’s never been developed.

At one time, $3.2 million was earmarked for the park’s construction by the federal and former provincial NDP governments, but nothing came of it.

Roblin, who served as premier from 1958 to 1967, played a pivotal role in the floodway’s construction. The massive engineering project, which has saved Winnipeg from severe flooding several times, was completed in 1968.

“The development of the Duff Roblin Provincial Park will pay him the tribute that is due,” Squires said in an announcement Friday at The Forks.

“His foresight and determination ensured that the Red River Floodway would be built, thus creating a lasting legacy, saving the city of Winnipeg from significant flooding and billions of dollars of damage,” she said.

Preliminary plans call for the creation of viewpoints and interpretive spaces for learning about the floodway, its history, how it works, and about Roblin, who did more than anyone else to make it happen.

The province has hired an engineering consultant to further develop the plans and to manage the construction of the project, Squires said.

The goal is to offer educational opportunities, interpretive displays and viewing vistas of the floodway channel and inlet control structure for when the floodway is in use and when it is not.

Proposed amenities for the site could include a raised viewing area, picnic areas, interpretive kiosks, walking trails, washrooms, fishing facilities, a toboggan hill in winter, and landscape improvements.

The government said the design ideas have been shared with the Roblin family, which will be kept up to date as the project proceeds.

Jennifer Roblin said her father would be “most pleased and honoured” by the project.

“My family thinks it is wonderful that, with the development of the park, Manitobans will be able to come and view the incredible engineering marvel that is the Red River Floodway in action,” she said in a prepared statement.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca