Waverley underpass opening Aug. 19

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This article was published 06/08/2019 (2224 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ahead of schedule and under budget, the Waverley Underpass will open to traffic Aug. 19, officials from the three levels of government announced Tuesday.

Originally projected to open in October and cost $156 million, the long-awaited relief for motorists frequently stopped at the at-grade railway crossing will instead carry a price of $98 million.

Mayor Brian Bowman, Premier Brian Pallister and Jim Carr, Minister of International Trade Diversification held a ribbon-cutting Tuesday, even though it’s more than a week before the first car can slip under the tracks.

In addition to replacing the existing at-grade railway crossing at Waverley Street and Taylor Avenue with the underpass, the project also involved reconstructing and rehabilitating Waverley and widening Taylor between Waverley and Lindsay Street.

Although the underpass is set to be opened later this month, construction on the site will continue into the fall and final touches including art installation and landscaping will be completed in spring 2020.

Bowman said the project was “a long time coming,” and noted that any level of government involved could have derailed the project.

“I emphasize the fact that we work collaboratively with many different governments of different political parties to see this project through, so we are always trying to find collaborative ways to problem solve with government partners,” he said.

Pallister said the project was welcome relief for both residents and visitors of southwest Winnipeg.

“It’s a good example of what happens when governments work together effectively ahead of time, under budget,” said Pallister, who frequently appears at odds with both the municipal and federal goverments.

The project was initially budgeted at $155 million, but is expected to come in around $98 million. The three levels of government will share the estimated remaining $57 million.

Approximately 30,000 vehicles will travel through the new underpass daily, avoiding the 35 to 40 trains that pass along the track at Waverley Street.

nadya.pankiw@freepress.mb.ca