City seeks advice on Chief Peguis Trail project

The construction industry has been asked to weigh in on how best to build the extension of Chief Peguis Trail, which is projected to cost in excess of $750 million.

A request for expressions of interest in relation to the extension from Main Street to Brookside Boulevard seeks organizations that are interested in “potentially participating in the project procurement process(es) with a lead construction role such as general contractor or design-builder.”

The city will hold interviews with potential builders on the project, as per the request that was published by the City of Winnipeg last week.

The deadline for submissions is Aug. 5, with interviews scheduled for the weeks of Aug. 5 and Aug. 11.

Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of the public works committee, said it’s an opportunity for the city to explore options to fund and deliver the project, which was expected to cost $755 million, plus $147 million in interest if funded solely through debt, as per a city report published in February.

“We’re looking at different funding models, different delivery models,” Lukes said Tuesday.

“I think one of the things that we’re looking at is, would it make sense to do a private-public partnership … where everyone, multiple organizations, share in the risk of delivering a piece of infrastructure.”

Chief Peguis Trail runs from Lagimodiere Boulevard to Main Street. The city has predicted the 10-kilometre extension project could develop 1,200 net acres of residential land, as many as 15,000 homes, and 600 acres of land for business and industry.

Mayor Scott Gillingham has said the project will need financial support from the provincial and federal governments.

Lukes said the extension would improve Winnipeg’s trade routes, and, in light of tariff threats, that might inspire more government funding.

“From a bigger picture, it actually puts this project in a more favourable light, because we’re trading east, west, and north more so… maybe there’s an opportunity for funding there,” she said.

The request opens up opportunities for the local construction industry, be it through design or contractors, to have a say and possibly a role in the project, said Chris Lorenc, president of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association.

“What you don’t want is to design the project in a way that only allows multinational, huge conglomerates, to respond,” he said. “You want the opportunity of businesses in Manitoba to compete.”

The cost of the extension has skyrocketed since 2019, when it was expected to cost $449 million, plus $38 million in interest if funded by debt. That cost hike has been attributed to construction inflation.

Opening the door to industry could help avert “cost surprises,” Lorenc said.

“It’s like preventative medicine. If you have a minor stroke, the doctors will refer you to a prevention stroke clinic to try to put you on a course of practice, medication to prevent a major stroke,” he said.

“What the city is trying to do here is to preempt even a minor stroke, never mind a major stroke.”

In December 2011, the four-kilometre section linking Henderson Highway to Lagimodiere Boulevard opened; it cost $110 million to build. The oldest portion of Chief Peguis Trail, the 1.5-kilometre bridge over the Red River, opened in 1990, linking Main Street to Henderson Highway.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca