Work on North Hill roundabout eyed for next spring

Construction of a roundabout on Brandon’s North Hill is expected to start as early as next spring — but some politicians say that’s not soon enough.

In the works for almost a decade, the roundabout at the intersection of 18th Street North and Braecrest Drive will go to tender later this fall, according to the city’s engineering director, Kyle Winters.

“If we get … our tender out and closed before the end of the year, we can get that awarded first thing and contractors can start planning to start whenever kind of the weather allows for it,” Winters said.

He said the city hopes most of the work can be completed by the next winter, though that might leave minor landscaping work for the spring of 2028.

According to data attached to the city’s website, at least two fatal accidents occurred at the intersection between 2008 and 2017, and there were at least 61 collisions.

Wayne Balcaen, the MLA for Brandon West, brought the topic of the roundabout up during question period at the Manitoba legislature last week. As 18th Street North also serves as Highway 10, it is under provincial jurisdiction.

When told Tuesday about the updated timeline, Balcaen said while he understands Manitoba’s construction season is short, he’s disappointed shovels didn’t hit the ground this year.

“Learning this project is scheduled for spring is encouraging,” Balcaen wrote in a message. “However, with the NDP’s record on broken promises, I am not going to offer congratulations until I see this project completed. Lives are depending on it.”

The city councillor for the area, Heather Karrouze, said she would love to see the roundabout operational by this time next year.

“I’m just really glad that it’s actually for real happening,” Karrouze (Ward 1) said.

Karrouze faces re-election next week. Her sole opponent, Ron Shaluk, said it’s a “little disappointing” that the project has been delayed, and that he, along with residents he has spoken to, would like to see shovels hit the ground “the sooner the better.”

“There is some danger at that intersection, and you’d hate to see a bad accident that theoretically might have been preventable if the roundabout was done this year,” Shaluk said.

He said he’s looking forward to the spring start date.

The roundabout was scheduled to be completed this fall, Winters said last December, but utility work in the area pushed back construction.

“It’s a project that we’ve been meaning to get moving for a little while here. So, the quicker we can get construction started, the better,” he said. “I think there’s been a lot of development on Braecrest that utilizes that intersection and providing a roundabout — a safer option for motorists to use — is ideal.”

The current cost estimate for the project is around $6 million, Winters said, with the price tag evenly split between the city and province.

Traffic flow is expected to continue at the intersection during construction, Winters said.

The city will host an open house early next month to provide an opportunity for residents to learn about the project. No date has yet been set for the meeting.

When Balcaen raised the issue in the legislature last week, he took aim at Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor for delays in the project.

“Three years in, and this minister of infrastructure hasn’t moved a single shovel for the roundabout at 18th Street and Braecrest in Brandon,” Balcaen said.

He said there have been too many fatal accidents at the site, and it is now unsafe to drive on streets in the city because of government inaction.

In response, Naylor said the previous PC government underspent on infrastructure and that her NDP government is making progress on roads, including in Brandon.

Naylor in an interview Tuesday said she’s “really happy to hear that the city’s moving forward with this project.”

While 18th Street North is under provincial jurisdiction and the roundabout is being cost-shared with the province, the project was led by the city, Naylor said.

“Safety of the highway network is the most important thing to me, and that is one of the reasons that we have partnered with the City of Brandon on this intersection,” she said.

Naylor said she also has confidence in the city’s due diligence that a roundabout was the right fix for the intersection.

Naylor said it’s her understanding that work on the intersection was originally “meant to advance” in 2019 while the PCs were in power.

“I’m thrilled that our government has been able to have such a good working relationship with the City of Brandon and being able to advance this project in a timely fashion,” she said.

Balcaen said he is disappointed by the construction delays, but that Naylor’s response is playing the “blame game,” and that the NDP needs to take accountability as it is the governing party.

The intersection is situated in the nearby provincial riding of Spruce Woods, but Balcaen said he spoke about the intersection as it is in Brandon and it falls under the safety portion of his justice critic role for his party.

» alambert@brandonsun.com