Perimeter Highway | Winnipeg

[bomberjet]

Originally Posted by roccerfeller

Even just putting lights around the entire stretch would do wonders for night time safety

I swear there was either a tender or some type of posting a while back about street lighting for the south perimeter.

[cllew]

Now that LED lights are more common it might be affordable for MIT to start installing more lights on all the highways just not 100 / 101.

Nest step would be keeping them working once installed. There are large sections of lights (both LED and HPS) out all over Winnipeg, not just the odd one or two out every few miles.

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by cllew

Nest step would be keeping them working once installed. There are large sections of lights (both LED and HPS) out all over Winnipeg, not just the odd one or two out every few miles.

I heard there are new rules (not sure as of when) regarding electrical safety and street construction, so sometimes that affects it depending where the transformers and controllers are - they may have to shut lights off. smith was just like that while it was ripped up.

[cllew]

Manitoba Hydro has problems keeping lights on when there is no construction near the streets.

I just came in from a walk on Henderson Hwy and there are about 5 or 6 blocks of lights out on the east side.

In my part of EK we loose about 1 mile of lights on Roch St. every time there is a good rain and I have to report it to have a truck come out fix what ever has gone wrong.

Apparently to save money Hydro doesn't patrol as much as they use to, looking for problems but wait for the public to report in outages and then send a truck out.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by cllew

Manitoba Hydro has problems keeping lights on when there is no construction near the streets.

I just came in from a walk on Henderson Hwy and there are about 5 or 6 blocks of lights out on the east side.

In my part of EK we loose about 1 mile of lights on Roch St. every time there is a good rain and I have to report it to have a truck come out fix what ever has gone wrong.

Apparently to save money Hydro doesn't patrol as much as they use to, looking for problems but wait for the public to report in outages and then send a truck out.

No Hydro is too busy building dams for power to sell at a loss, transmission lines on the wrong side of the province, hiring a manager for every three employees, giving rebates for replacement of every electrical device made, low interest loans for windows and doors, subsidized furnaces, giving rebates for insulation.....No money to maintain basic electrical infrastructure like 70 year old hydro poles, 50 year old electrical lines, 50 year old sub stations....

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by roccerfeller

There should never be left turning lanes on a highway in the first place, especially one with speeds of 100 kph (and many cars do 10-20 kph over that limit)

hopefully these things get as fast tracked as possible, the perimeter could be a fantastic highway for motor travel but it is still far from being that. Even just putting lights around the entire stretch would do wonders for night time safety

On the Perimeter as it is today a minimum of 15 different grade separations would be needed based on either a train crossing, lights and major roads connecting.

Lag
Raleigh train crossing
Pipeline
PDC rail crossing
HWY 6
McGillvary
HWY 2
Brady train crossing
Waverly/St Nobert by-pass
St Marys
St Annes
South Side train crossing
GWWD train crossing
Dugald/CN Mail line
Gunn Rd

In terms of lights all the way around, it will be a long time coming for it to be completed. The CCW construction though has it light most of the way from Inkster past Roblin now so it is a start.

Edit: Thanks esquire - missed two rail crossing, likely missed a couple others.

[esquire]

^ There are a couple of railway crossings on the Perimeter that are so lightly used I doubt they will ever get separated... the one at Raleigh, the GWWD line and the PDC line come to mind although I'm sure there are others. Not a big deal either as the trains that use them are quite short, so it's not like traffic will stack up for a half hour while a 2 km long fuel tanker train ambles through the way we so often see at the CN level crossing near 101 @ Dugald Road.

[Reignman]

Originally Posted by CoryB

On the Perimeter as it is today a minimum of 13 different grade separations would be needed based on either a train crossing, lights and major roads connecting.

Lag
Raleigh train crossing
Pipeline
HWY 6
McGillvary
HWY 2
Brady train crossing
Waverly/St Nobert by-pass
St Marys
St Annes
South Side train crossing
Dugald
Gunn Rd

In terms of lights all the way around, it will be a long time coming for it to be completed. The CCW construction though has it light most of the way from Inkster past Roblin now so it is a start.

That's a long list! I see you missed the Kenaston lights, and that stupid new light they put up just west of Kenaston/100.

Maybe the perimeter wouldn't be so dysfunctional and so far behind had the province funded any improvements between 1996 and whenever CCW started. NOTHING was done in that approx 15 year timeframe.

[bomberjet]

There is no train crossing at Raleigh. That's been gone for years (decades?). At grade train crossings on the Perimeter:

Just west of Main St.
Just east of Hwy 7 by King Edward (Pipeline ish)
Hwy 6
Oak Bluff
PR 330
St. Annes/Hwy 59S
GWWD
Dugald
West of 59N

Most of which are dinky lines with 1 customer at the other end. Only real issues are at Dugald. Maybe the CP Emerson crossing at St Annes.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Most of which are dinky lines with 1 customer at the other end. Only real issues are at Dugald. Maybe the CP Emerson crossing at St Annes.

Yeah, the one at Dugald and 101 should have been grade-separated when they opened the NE Perimeter nearly 20 years ago. The CP Emerson crossing is getting a lot busier these days and probably should be grade-separated sooner rather than later... it's starting to look more and more like the main line in terms of movement levels.

[Reignman]

Originally Posted by esquire

Yeah, the one at Dugald and 101 should have been grade-separated when they opened the NE Perimeter nearly 20 years ago

What IS the plan for that area? Is it even on MITs radar? How can the province sit back and watch a major highway effectively be part of a rail switching yard? Train movements are one thing but having trains stop, wait, back up, stop again, etc and hold up traffic for huge lengths of time is unnaceptable

[bomberjet]

I don't think there is a plan at this point. The stretch from 59N down the east Perimeter to #1 will be the last stretch upgraded, as it's the least used.

From what I've heard, it's a bit of a political showdown between the Province, City and RM. And since the detour was in place from the get go, then they decided to put the traffic lights in on the permanent alignment, nothing will happen there for a long time.

[Urban recluse]

It truly is pathetic how ineffective the perimeter is. This is one more facet of Winnipeg's woes.

[cllew]

At least we are lucky that its only one of the two CN lines blocking traffic . I can see the lineups if the Sprague Subdivision was a grade crossing with the trains holding short trying to get into Symington yard

On a related note it appears that CP is finally putting gates up on the Emerson Sub crossing at Fermor. I have always wondered how they got away with just bells / lights at a crossing on a major route like that.

Last year they upgraded the Emerson crossing on Bishop Grandon to gates as well. I would have thought that when Bishop Grandon was put over the tracks it would have been a fully protected crossing that time and not just bell / lights like a minor street crossing.

I think the only remaining bell / light crossings for that line will be at Mission (surprised that did not get an upgrade as part of the intersection reconstruction this summer) and the next one south at Plinquete st.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by Reignman

What IS the plan for that area? Is it even on MITs radar?

Considering the "temporary construction detour" at Lag and the Perimeter has been in operation about 25 years now I wouldn't hold my breath on any other grade separation projects on the Perimeter. I am actually a little surprised CCW was finished before Lag.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

It truly is pathetic how ineffective the perimeter is. This is one more facet of Winnipeg's woes.

It actually still does work reasonably well despite the lack of investment... the fact that it's built out so far from the city makes it somewhat immune to mounting city traffic problems, and it has made it easy for MIT to kick the can down the road when it comes to infrastructure improvement.

The problem is that MIT has neglected it for so long that there are now numerous urgent issues coming up that have to be addressed all at once. You have various intersections reaching the breaking point when it comes to the loads they handle, you have certain parts close to the built-up part of the city requiring additional lanes, you have railway crossings desperately in need of grade separation, needs for more lighting, etc. There's a fair bit of work that has to be done over the next 10-15 years or so.

[CoryB]

A big part of what as kept the Perimeter somewhat workable is the lack of major access roads. Other than Lag/Henderson/Main and Lag/St Annes/St Marys/Pembina/Waverly there is a fairly good gap between intersections.

[esquire]

The skies opened up over Broadway and the heavenly choir of angels sang today... the South Perimeter is being brought kicking and screaming into the 21st century... er, well, okay, the mid-to-late 20th century?

MANITOBA GOVERNMENT COMMITS TO REPLACING TRAFFIC LIGHT INTERSECTIONS WITH MODERN INTERCHANGES ON SOUTH PERIMETER HIGHWAY

- - -

Safe, Seamless Drive Part of Vision for Continued Investments
In Core Infrastructure Across Province: Premier Selinger

In the 2015 throne speech, the Manitoba government is committed to a strategic redevelopment of the Perimeter Highway that would see all ground-level intersections replaced with modern interchanges, Premier Greg Selinger announced today.

“Following two years of record investments in building and upgrading highways across the province, we are now preparing to launch a new wave of unprecedented construction on the Perimeter Highway that will see traffic flowing smoothly, safely and without interruption,” Premier Selinger said. “We will ensure Winnipeg has the high-quality transportation system that its citizens deserve and that will help them build the economy of the future.”

There are currently 10 ground-level intersections controlled by traffic lights around the Perimeter Highway. The premier noted work has already started on modernizing the intersection of PTH 59 and the north Perimeter Highway. He said upgrades on the southwest Perimeter Highway linking the primary truck routes of the Trans-Canada Highway and PTH 75 with CentrePort will be the next priority.

Premier Selinger said these projects will help make Winnipeg a modern transportation hub for North America by replacing ground level intersections, with safer and more efficient diamond interchanges at four additional locations:

• a new interstate standard diamond interchange at PTH 3 (McGillivray Boulevard);
• a new Kenaston Boulevard and Waverley Street interchange;
• a new interchange at St. Mary’s Road; and
• a new interchange at St. Anne’s Road.

“What is significant to Manitoba’s economy is that there is a clear focus on investing in infrastructure to enable productivity and therefore competitiveness, which generates investment, jobs and revenues to governments with which to fund our quality-of-life programs,” said Chris Lorenc, president, Manitoba Heavy Construction Association. “A 10-year core infrastructure program is needed to assure that permanent investment strategies in trade and transportation assets result in economic growth and prosperity.”

“This investment, while certainly welcomed by the trucking industry, will have significant benefits to our tourism industry and to any members of the commercial or industrial supply chain,” said Terry Shaw, executive director, Manitoba Trucking Association. “These kinds of strategic upgrades come with many other perks for all Manitobans. They improve our quality of life, they improve road safety and they help the environment by permitting vehicles to operate at peak efficiency, rather than idling at lights.”

The premier noted the province’s core infrastructure plan includes strategic construction projects such as an extension of CentrePort Canada Way to provide a bypass of Headingley, investing in the reconstruction and raising of PTH 75 to keep it open during floods, and modernizing the Pembina-Emerson border crossing to improve traffic flow.

“These important upgrades will employ thousands of people in good-paying jobs, significantly benefit commercial traffic and make commuting to work and home much more pleasant well into the future,” the premier said. “To make sustained investments, we’re committed to a three-year extension of the five-year core infrastructure plan, adding an extra $4.5 billion to the original $5.5 billion, for a total of $10 billion.”

Modernizing the province’s highway system not only benefits motorists and commercial traffic, it can be expected to pay dividends for the trucking industry with lower fuel usage and lower greenhouse gas emissions, the premier added.

- 30 -

[Cyro]

Today..from the Throne...

Lights out, diamonds in on Perimeter Highway: Selinger

The south Perimeter Highway will see more ground-level intersections replaced with modern interchanges, thanks to new infrastructure dollars first announced in Monday’s throne speech, the province announced Tuesday.
.......
There are currently 10 ground-level intersections controlled by traffic lights along the Perimeter Highway. New work will replace ground-level intersections with diamond interchanges at St. Mary’s Road and St. Anne’s Road, the province says.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2015/11/1...ghway-selinger

^ EDIT: Much more detail above...

[Biff]

......IF he gets re-elected......