City spending $700K in repairs 6 years after opening Southwest Transitway

The City of Winnipeg is still building the second phase of the Southwest Transitway, buta portion of phase one already needs $700,000 in repairs.

Alissa Clark, spokesperson for Winnipeg Transit, said in an email the city needs to do both partial and full-depth repairs to concrete between Queen Elizabeth Way and Jubilee Avenue. The city declined a request for an interview.

Maintenance workon the six-year-old linewas planned under the Public Works pavement preservation program, Clark said.

"Pavement defects can and do occur on new pavements shortly after installation," she wrote. "These repairs are normal preservation activities that are undertaken to ensure the defects do not get larger or negatively impact the pavement lifecycle and transit operations."

The city will also repair detectable warning tiles for visually impaired riders that were damaged as a result of "normal snow clearing activities" and general wear and tear.

The city is also doing "diamond grinding" alongthe transit route to prevent "pavement failures associated with surface imperfections," Clark said.The measure removes a thin layer of the concrete using diamond saw blades that smooth over bumps and other imperfections and improveskid resistance.

Done by September

The work, awarded to Maple Leaf Construction, began on Monday and is expected to be completed by the September long weekend, she said.

The section from Queen Elizabeth Wayto Harkness Station is expected to be finished by Friday, when normal service from Main Street will resume.

The $138-million Southwest Transitway, which opened in April 2012, runs between Queen Elizabeth Way near The Forks and Jubilee Avenue near Pembina Highway.

The second phase of the project, between Jubilee Avenue and Markham Road, is slated to be completed in 2020 at a cost of $467 million.

Transit Costs: $700K in repairs 6 years after opening

6 years ago

Duration 1:04

Laura Glowacki reports on the $700,000 maintenance costs required on the bus route that opened 6 years ago.