Kenaston Boulevard widening plans unveiled, city seeks public input

Winnipeggers can get their first look at updated plans for widening Kenaston Boulevard as the city launches a public survey to gather feedback on upgrades to one of the city's major thoroughfares.

The proposed designs, outlined in a city report Friday, outline a number of major changes to Route 90, between Taylor Avenue and Ness Avenue. 

Plans include widening Kenaston to three lanes in each direction, rehabilitating and reconfiguring both spans of the St. James Bridge, rebuilding the road to accommodate a consistent speed limit of 60 km/h and adding active transportation infrastructure.

People can fill out the online survey until June 1. The city plans to hold an open house at the Viscount Gort Hotel on May 18 at 6 p.m.

The city has been working on plans to widen Kenaston for more than a decade. City council approved an alignment in 2012 based on a transportation planning study.

The study estimates that if no changes are made, traffic times on Kenaston between Ness and Taylor will rise from between seven and eight minutes currently to between 10 and 14 minutes by 2041.

The new bridge is needed because the existing one is nearing the end of its lifespan — the southbound span was built in 1935 — and could pose a safety hazard if not replaced. Preliminary designs for the new bridge were released in 2018.

Mayor Scott Gillingham has made widening Kenaston, along with extending Chief Peguis Trail westward, a key part of his mandate. He has said it is necessary to support the Naawi-Oodena development at the former Kapyong Barracks site and to improve the flow of goods and people through the city.

"The road needs to be widened, because it's a bottleneck and it's an important trade route and so we need to make the investment," he told reporters on Friday.

During the election campaign last year, he promised to complete a business-case study of the two projects, in order to seek federal and provincial funding. The projects are expected to cost around $500 million each.

The 2023 budget incudes $2.8 million for the business-case studies on Kenaston and Chief Peguis. 

Opponents, including some members of council, have said the projects are too expensive and won't lead to the traffic improvements the city is seeking. 

Gillingham pointed out that in breakdown of expected costs in Friday's report, about one-third of the total (31 per cent) is expected to go toward widening the road. About 40 per cent of the costs are needed for the bridge and road renewal, and 27 per cent is for separating combined sewers.

"The condition of Kenaston Boulevard in that section is such that it needs to be redone," he said.

"The bridge needs to be redone, the St. James Bridge needs to be done. So I think it's important to point out that close to 70 per cent of the costs and work associated with the project are not about widening the road."

According to the report, the Manitoba Youth Centre at Tuxedo Avenue will remain, meaning any widening would need to happen on the east side of the road.

That could require expropriating existing homes on that side.

"Most Winnipeggers and certainly folks in the immediate area, have known … there's been plans to widen Kenaston for many, many years. And so the public feedback at this point will be very important," Gillingham said.