Public works report calls for council’s green light on Kenaston megaproject

Initial steps could be taken next year on a massive project to widen Kenaston Boulevard, replace the St. James bridges and upgrade the area’s sewer system.

In a new report, Winnipeg public works staff ask city council to approve the megaproject that would widen Kenaston/ Route 90 to offer three lanes in each direction between Taylor and Ness avenues, to begin “no later than 2027.”

That planning phase could lead to construction beginning as early as 2028, city spokesman Adam Campbell said in an email.

If council approves, the project to alleviate a major traffic bottleneck would also add active transportation pathways on both sides of Kenaston and separate aging pipes to reduce combined sewer overflows.

City staff also propose that council allocate $5 million in 2026 to buy up properties to make space for the project.

If council doesn’t authorize the entire megaproject on the above timeline, public works staff propose a stand-alone project be designed to rehabilitate the St. James Street bridges, with design work starting by 2027.

The full Kenaston project price is now expected to reach $614 million, plus $143 million in interest, if the city funds it entirely through debt. That’s up from a previous $586 million estimate, plus interest.

Mayor Scott Gillingham said the project is still worth its hefty price tag.

“This is a need-to-have project. Those bridges have got to be replaced and repaired. It’s the busiest transportation route, the busiest route in all of Winnipeg.”

“This is a need-to-have project. Those bridges have got to be replaced and repaired. It’s the busiest transportation route, the busiest route in all of Winnipeg with the most traffic… So, I think the case speaks for itself,” said Gillingham.

An early estimate suggests it would cost $221 million just to replace the St. James bridges, which were built in 1962.

Repairing only the existing bridges — without adding the new southbound bridge the broader Route 90 project includes — would “result in severe traffic congestion and delay,” with each bridge requiring a full closure for one to two years, the report notes.

“The St. James bridges carry 77,800 vehicles per day… making it the busiest segment of roadway in the city, and a critical goods movement corridor. The bridges are deteriorating and require rehabilitation to extend their lifespan and avoid unplanned closures,” it states.

Gillingham said the demands on the route show it is key to Winnipeg’s economy, so the provincial and federal governments should also help cover the project’s cost.

“I’d be seeking to work with our federal and provincial partners, looking for probably a one-third cost share (from) each level of government,” he said.

Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of public council’s public works committee, said the city can’t afford the project on its own.

“I honestly don’t know how we would possibly do it unless we had other levels of governments’ support,” said Lukes (Waverley West).

The major project is needed to address heavy traffic and support a key trade route, she said.

In his 2022 mayoral campaign, Gillingham promised to pursue the project, pending the outcome of a cost-benefit analysis. That third-party review is now complete and concludes the project will produce about $10 million more in benefits more than it will cost throughout its life cycle, the staff report notes.

That’s down from a previous $20-million estimate. The city says the amounts were calculated differently. For example, the newer value estimate reflects the project’s impact over 50 years instead of 25 and accounts for a future transition to more electric vehicles, Campbell said.

The project has triggered heated debate in the past. Some active-transportation advocates suggest it isn’t worth its price and would encourage increased vehicle traffic, undermining efforts to combat climate change.

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In the past, Coun. Brian Mayes also critiqued the way the city valued the lane-widening portion of the project, such as by crediting it with reducing emissions due to reduced idling. He noted the value of other projects was not assessed the same way.

Mayes (St. Vital) said he’s not sure how he’ll vote on the latest plan. He said the proposal to allocate $5 million in the 2026 budget to property purchases for the Kenaston project has inspired him to push for $5 million to support a proposed Bonavista recreation centre.

“If we’re ever going to put $5 million into this, then let’s not claim the cupboard’s bare for everyone else’s projects,” said Mayes.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

Every piece of reporting Joyanne 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.