Four options for new Daly Overpass; each would impact nearby businesses, homes

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This article was published 13/12/2017 (3084 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Infrastructure unveiled four options for the future Daly Overpass at a public open house at the Victoria Inn and Hotel Convention Centre on Tuesday evening.

The estimated $60-million project will be a major undertaking, with all options impacting nearby businesses and homes in some way.

“We’ve already been out and spoke to the people directly who are impacted,” said Ruth Eden, executive director of structures with Manitoba Infrastructure. “We prefer to do that, because they’re the ones that are impacted; they get to hear it first … But then tonight is now the opportunity for the general public to come and give us their feedback.”

The new overpass will consist of two separate structures, each with two lanes. This is similar to the recently opened First Street bridge, as well as the Thompson Bridge on 18th Street. According to Manitoba Infrastructure, the new structures will have a more gradual gradient than the existing bridge, which will improve sightlines and safety for motorists. The design will include a pathway on each side for pedestrians and cyclists.

Eden explained that Options 1 and 2 have the same construction concept as what was done for the First Street bridge. Initially, two lanes were removed from the four-lane structure, with a new two-lane structure built. Once that was complete, traffic was allowed on the new First Street bridge so the second structure could be completed.

“The only little difference that we have at Daly, is it’s three lanes,” she said.

To maintain two lanes of traffic throughout the construction process, only one lane would be shut down initially.

“With one option … we’re shifting everything a little to the east, and with the other option we’re shifting everything a little to the west,” Eden said.

The other two options propose a “much bigger shift,” either to the east or to the west.

“We’re actually keeping the existing bridge open, so we’re building totally on new alignment,” Eden said, describing Options 3 and 4 as bubbling out and around the existing bridge.

As part of the Daly Overpass project, the province is working with the City of Brandon on a new Pacific Avenue extension from 18th Street and 26th Street.

For years, the Daly Overpass has created a bottleneck situation on 18th Street, due to it only having one northbound lane. The structure is nearly 55 years old. Its expansion had been identified as a priority by the previous city council, in 2013. But when structural issues were discovered on the First Street bridge, the Daly Overpass was bumped down the list.

Jim Millard, a longtime Brandon resident, said he is looking forward to a new structure that will ease traffic problems.

“Sometimes people are backed up all the way past Park Avenue,” Millard said. “I like number 2, but number 3 is OK too because it doesn’t require taking down too many buildings.”

Millie Boschman, who lives in Monterey Estates, said after looking at all the information, Option 3 is her preference.

“It seems to impact fewer businesses and residents, as well as utilities,” she said. “I think it’s going to go smoothly … I’m excited that it’s finally going to take place.”

Brandon Police Service Chief Wayne Balcaen said his main concerns are safety and cost.

“I want to make sure that it’s the best bang for our dollar, and also safety for our motoring public, as well as our pedestrian public and active transportation,” he said.

The new bridge will not only be safer, he said, it will be more convenient.

“Some people I know specifically use First Street because they don’t want to go to 18th Street and get caught up … they’ll go the extra distance, 18 blocks to do the First Street bridge rather than to deal with the 18th,” Balcaen said.

Brandon East Progressive Conservative MLA Len Isleifson said a new overpass is “long overdue.”

“When you talk about bottleneck, it’s not just for today, but in the future,” he said. “When we look at expansion, whether it be south, or north, we have a lot of people, not just the residents of Brandon, but 180,000 Westman people that shop here.”

The province is working with Landmark Planning and Design as well as Dillon Consulting on this project. The next step will be evaluating options and feedback, and selecting a preferred option. Options will be evaluated by a team taking into account a variety of considerations, such as safety, property acquisition, environment, business/residential impacts, construction traffic, neighbourhood impact, esthetics, functionality, schedule, railway implications and cost, among others.

Eden said they expect to present a preferred option to the public by early summer.

“Then we would start detailed design, and we would also get our environmental approval for the project,” Eden said. “We need to purchase the land … and once all of that is done, then we can start construction.”

As it is in the very early stages, the timeline is still up in the air. But they do know it will take two years to complete.

“We thank everybody for coming out,” Eden said. “We hope that it was worthwhile, and that you got the information that you were looking for.”

The conceptual options are available online at landmarkplanning.ca. Manitoba Infrastructure welcomes feedback by calling 204-945-3744, toll-free at 1-866-626-4862 or by emailing mgi@gov.mb.ca.

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