‘Pretty heavy during rush hour’: Marion upgrades to cost $133M

A plan to upgrade a major route in St. Boniface has surfaced at City Hall. Jeff Keele has more.

Suzanne Leclair has to navigate through Marion Street and Archibald Street in St. Boniface daily.

“It’s pretty heavy during rush hour, especially. There’s a lot of traffic here,” said Leclair.

She said that leads to delays during her commute.

“I leave five minutes later, I’m waiting through two to three light cycles to turn.”

Now a long-awaited plan has come forward to upgrade Marion, including Goulet, from St. Mary’s Road to Lagimodiere Boulevard and Dugald Road.

A report said this aims to improve safety and traffic flow.

“I’m pleased to see where it’s at. It’s been many years in the making,” said St. Boniface Coun. Matt Allard.

The plan has dedicated bike and walking paths, pavement renewals, and changes to intersections, including widening in some areas. The cost for all of this is pegged at $133 million. The report said it could be done in stages to stretch the costs over time. It would require 65 private property acquisitions, at a cost of $14 million.

Allard believes this will help ease traffic congestion because it will get more people walking, biking and taking the bus.

But there will still be a major roadblock for drivers: trains crossing at Marion and Archibald. In 2016, city council voted down a plan to build an underpass there because of the more than half a billion dollar price tag. Plus, there was community backlash because of the dozens of properties that would have been bought out or expropriated to make it happen. Public Works Committee Chair Janice Lukes said the underpass project was not feasible.

“The other one annihilated whole neighbourhoods, like it took out major acquisitions, like a major freeway dropped into the neighbourhood,” said Lukes. “So this one is still going to move vehicles.”

Leclair understands how expensive an underpass would cost, but she said it would be worth it there, especially during rush hour, when she’s forced to wait 20 to 25 minutes in a long line of cars.

“Sometimes all the way down to Tache, because it’s so backed up from trains,” said Leclair.