City’s infrastructure to-do list tops $12B

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This article was published 29/11/2023 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s infrastructure deficit has climbed to $8 billion, as per a new 10-year capital project blueprint that is largely made up of unfunded proposals, such as a new Arlington Bridge.

Released Wednesday, city hall’s 2024 infrastructure plan lists almost 150 projects or programs which have a combined estimated cost of $12.8 billion.

The amount includes the infrastructure deficit — or unfunded projects — which has increased by $2.3 billion since 2020, when the city’s unfunded capital needs were pegged at close to $6 billion.

“We’re an old city. We’ve got a lot of aging infrastructure like a lot of cities across Canada,” said public works chair Coun. Janice Lukes.

The Arlington Bridge replacement is one of the more expensive projects that doesn’t have funding. It carries an estimated cost of $354 million, up from $319 million in 2020.

The 111-year-old bridge has been closed since Nov. 21, after an assessment identified potentially dangerous structural concerns.

Council will not make a decision about its future until it has the findings of an ongoing study into whether the bridge can be repaired enough to last another 25 years.

The project, like many on the list, will require funding from the federal or provincial governments, which also have their own priorities, said Lukes.

The city’s 2024 plan identified several factors for the deficit increase, including new projects, revised cost estimates and an expanded scope which incorporates programs.

Almost two-thirds of the projects or programs on the list do not yet have cash commitments. The remaining ones have total forecasted funding of $4.8 billion.

The Chief Peguis Trail extension ($598 million), Kenaston Boulevard widening ($558 million), community centre upgrades ($273 million) and a new Louise Bridge ($162 million) are among the unfunded proposals.

Since 2020, three projects have been completed and 12 are forecasted in the 2024 budget, totalling just over $1 billion in investments.

“Council has made significant decisions to invest in the infrastructure that we need in our city,” said Mayor Scott Gillingham.

Forecasted projects that are expected to be approved next year include water meter renewals (a 10-year capital cost of $135 million), the St. Vital Bridge rehabilitation ($23 million) and a Silver Heights fire paramedic station ($14 million).

Prepared by city staff, the new plan identifies Winnipeg’s infrastructure needs for 2024-2033 to help guide council’s spending decisions, alongside a number of strategies.

The blueprint doesn’t rank projects by priority, unlike the previous outlook in 2020, in which staff created a list of 45 priorities.

“In an effort to better align with the city’s service-based budget, investments have been prioritized within each of the service areas to better inform the decision-making process,” city spokesman Kalen Qually wrote in an email.

Lukes said she wasn’t in favour of the prioritized list because it lacked input from council, residents and industry.

“That’s our job (on council), is to work together to lay out what we want to prioritize,” she said.

St. Vital Coun. Brian Mayes, who chairs the water, waste and environment committee, said he prefers a ranked list.

“We’ve done a pretty good job of tackling the top 10, sometimes out of order, but not a bad job,” he said.

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The top priority in the 2020 plan was upgrading biosolids facilities at the North End Sewage Treatment Plant.

Ottawa, the province and the city announced more than $550 million in funding in 2022, but this phase of the mega project is now expected to top $1 billion.

The second-highest priority in 2020 was new insect-control buildings and yards, at a cost of $28.7 million. The proposal is in the 2024 blueprint, with an increased estimate of $32 million.

— with files from Joyanne Pursaga

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.