Quote:
Originally Posted by Biff
The problem with this is that in actuality it is cost prohibitive to twin Hwy 15. My discussions with MIT told me that there are so many properties fronting both sides of Hwy 15 from the floodway east to Dugald that the costs associated with expropriation would be too high, that and the proximity to the rail line make land acquisition difficult (much like the twinning of Wilkes).
There has been some talk of building a new Hwy (twinning) just to the North or South of Hwy 15. This is where the talk of the Oakbank Corridor becomes more realistic.
Either way, this wouldn't likely happen until 2030 or later pending political will.
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Exactly. The Oak Bank corridor route isn't a "new" highway but a relocation of HWY 15 essentially between 101 and 206. When it is completed it would continue on to CPT and effectively close Gunn Rd at the Perimeter permanently. The Oak Bank corridor route would mostly go through fields used for farming.
The whole "twinning" of HWY 15 is why both HWY 15 and Gunn Rd currently don't have better plans in place on the Perimeter. The issue is all heavily interconnected.
When you are looking at traffic counts from the Oak Bank area you need to look at both HWY 15 and 213 west of 206 as Oak Bank is in between the two. If a limited access four lane road was built between 206 and the Perimeter a lot of that traffic would be pulled into the new road.
Also while it is known as the Oak Bank corridor route it would also serve Dugald, Anola and other parts of Springfield.
In terms of the costing of a route, as it would be a
provincial highway and people living in those area are paying
provincial taxes they are already picking up the cost. Considering it has been on the books for 20+ years already that is one heck of a down payment.
As I have said before if you want to talk issues with provincial roads you need to look beyond the south Perimeter. I know the TransCanada/Yellowhead intersection near Portage has been on the list an extremely long time too. Pretty sure HWY 6 is on the list for northern communities. And if you want to talk about needing to pay their fair share for roads, there is a strong case to be made that the issues with the south Perimeter, especially between Pembina and 59, are because the City has long been delaying its own infrastructure work, ie grade separating Bishop.
And for bluenote a few quick links on Gunn Rd fatalities:
http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/one-dead-...rash-1.1502953
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manito...gunn-1.3841431
http://www.chrisd.ca/2012/06/26/gunn.../#.WP9rc-91qDY