Prairies get major road upgrade cash for Asia-Pacific corridor

WINNIPEG — Manitoba is one of several provinces that will be getting millions in federal funding to enhance infrastructure that supports international trade corridors.

Booming Alberta, however, will get the largest lump sum from the $1 billion Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative (APGCI) — &75 million.

The money will primarily go towards an access road network around a new intermodal terminal in south Edmonton on 41 Ave. east of Hwy 2. The project includes a new interchange on Hwy 2 and 41 Ave., including a road/rail grade separation of the CPR tracks east, and improvements on arterial roads in the area.

Manitoba is getting $33.25 million. Funding will go towards upgrades to Inkster Blvd. between the Winnipeg Perimeter Highway and Oakpoint Highway. It will include twinning 6.6 km of Inkster to a four-lane divided highway, building an interchange at Sturgeon Road, constructing a new overpass at the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) mainline and making interchange improvements at the Northwest Perimeter Highway.

The four western provinces are splitting some
serious cash for major Asia trade artery projects.

Currently, Inkster Blvd. — a vital transportation artery in Winnipeg — is a 6.7 km, undivided two-lane roadway. Capacity constraints on the road represent an increasingly serious bottleneck for intermodal trade flows through Manitoba.

These upgrades will improve access to trucking depots, the Winnipeg International Airport and the CPR freight terminal. It is also expected to reduce truck travel times, and therefore increase the efficiency of the Gateway, says David Emerson, minister of International Trade and the Pacific Gateway.

“Today’s investment will contribute significantly to Canada’s competitiveness in the rapidly changing world of global commerce, as well as benefit the communities by upgrading local infrastructure,” said Emerson.

As for Saskatchewan, Ottawa announced it is getting $20 million for two new interchanges — one at Lorne Ave. and Circle Drive, the other at Idylwyld Freeway and Circle Drive — which will link Saskatoon’s existing freeway system with the proposed perimeter road system.

Saskatoon, the province’s transportation hub, right now is severely hindered because the main highway links pass directly through the city. Trucks moving containers through Saskatoon to and from CN’s intermodal terminal must travel on Idylwyld or on Circle Drive, which are high-volume arterial roadways.

Earlier this month, Ottawa announced funding for six projects in B.C. under the APGCI program. They include work on the South Fraser Perimeter Road; a Regional Transportation Management Centre for the Lower Mainland; a Roberts Bank Rail Corridor with road/rail grade separations; as well as local road improvements in Richmond and Delta.