$70M for Daly Overpass

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This article was published 08/03/2019 (2643 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The long-awaited expansion of the Daly Overpass got a major boost Thursday with the province announcing $70 million for the project.

In releasing the 2019 provincial budget, Finance Minister Scott Fielding said the province is spending more than $350 million on highways infrastructure, including the Daly Overpass project.

The Brandon overpass is under the umbrella of the Manitoba government.

In August 2015, Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Larry Maguire announced the federal government would chip in one-third of the then $60-million cost for the Daly Overpass, or $19.2 million, through the New Building Canada Fund.

A spokesman for Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler said Thursday that the federal share of the Daly Overpass investment is approximately $20 million.

Maguire said Thursday he is pleased to learn the overpass project has finally got the money to proceed, along with federal funding that survived the change in government.

The project, he said, “will be very exciting to alleviate some of the traffic flows on 18th Street.”

The province has previously indicated it hoped to begin construction on the Daly Overpass last November. However, the city had yet to receive a final design for the Daly Overpass, nearly a year after possible options for the aging bridge were presented at a public open house, The Brandon Sun reported.

City manager Rod Sage told The Sun in November the project is being handled by the provincial government and as far as he was aware, nothing had been presented to city administration or council.

“So until someone sees a final design, no work is going to start. That’s basically just general engineering practice,” he said.

Despite the delays, Coun. Shaun Cameron (University) said he is happy with Thursday’s funding announcement. Part of the overpass sits in his ward.

Having a funding commitment from the province on paper is “nice to see,” he said, adding it will help move the project forward.

Mayor Rick Chrest was equally enthusiastic with the news.

The overpass project, he said, “has been nicely working along through the conceptual and design stage, but the funding needs to be available when the time comes.”

Now that the funding has been announced, he said, “that’s quite a big one and important one for Brandon …”

The current configuration of the overpass has been described as creating a bottleneck on 18th Street, due to the fact it has only one northbound lane.

Four options for the project, to expand the more than 50-year-old overpass from its current three lanes to four, were brought forward at an open house at the Victoria Inn in December 2017.

The work would involve two separate structures, each with two lanes, with a pathway on both sides for pedestrians and cyclists.

Part of the project would also involve a new extension of Pacific Avenue from 18th Street to 26th Street. The work is expected to impact area homes and businesses and require potential annexations.

The province is working with Landmark Planning and Design, as well as Dillon Consulting, on the project.

» brobertson@brandonsun.com, with files from Drew May, staff

» Twitter: @BudRobertson4