The Harkness Rapid Transit station (STAN MILOSEVIC / CHRISD.CA FILE)
The City of Winnipeg is setting aside $137.5 million to fund the completion of the Southwest Rapid Transit Corridor to the University of Manitoba.
The $350 million project will see the city contribute $10 million and $127.5 million from the 2014 and 2015 budget forecasts, respectively. An additional $1.1 million has been earmarked from the 2013 capital budget.
The remaining funding will hopefully come from the provincial and federal governments, which the city has yet to ink formal agreements with.
“One of the concerns we’ve heard about previous capital budgets is that we have not formally allocated funds to continue the development of rapid transit in Winnipeg,” said Deputy Mayor Russ Wyatt. “We have heard those concerns and are addressing them today with our commitment to finishing what we’ve started.”
Mayor Sam Katz said on Thursday that route plans and designs haven’t been formalized, but discussions will begin early in the new year. One of the three proposed routes will eventually be chosen, with construction expected to begin in 2015 once the remaining funding has been put in to place.
Open houses were held in September for the public to review and provide feedback on the alignment options for the second phase. The project will take approximately three years to complete.
The first phase of the Southwest Transitway opened in April.
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