Looking southbound on Highway 32 between Stanley and Mountain Avenues

Almost $23 million is the price tag that's been placed on twinning Highway 32 from Winkler's northern to southern city limit. The staggering figure was announced at this week's council meeting, with Mayor Martin Harder admitting there was considerable sticker shock. The figure comes from a joint study co-funded by the city and province. Ten years ago the same project was estimated at $4 to $6 million.

Harder says to deal with the cost, they have broken the entire stretch into three sections. The north section stretches from Highway 14 to the northern city boundary, the middle section is Pembina to Highway 14, and the south section is the southern boundary to Pembina. The middle section would be the number one priority, with their already being discussion about delaying one of the remaining two in order to reduce the project's overall cost.

 

Looking northbound on Highway  32 between Stanley and Mountain Avenues

 

The big question now is just how much can the city afford in a cost sharing agreement. In a report given to Council, a 15% cost-share is proposed for the middle section. That would amount to approximately $1.2 million.

Harder has already requested a meeting with Transportation Minister Steve Ashton to discuss the numbers, and figure out exactly what the next steps are.


~ Friday, July 16th 2010 ~