Short, long term repairs planned for Main Street in Neepawa
- Details
- Published on Thursday, May 28, 2015
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Banner
Improvements are on the way for sections of Main Street in Neepawa. Earlier this month, Mayor Adrian de Groot, as well as members of council and town administration, met with representatives from Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation (MIT). The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the portion of Provincial Highway 16 (PTH 16) which runs through Neepawa.
MIT indicated to town representatives that two highway reconstruction projects in town would be undertaken this year, in order to take advantage of construction projects already planned for PTH 16 between Gladstone and Neepawa. The projects will include the micro-surfacing of the west junction of PTH 5 to Mountain Avenue and the milling and filling of the surface from Mountain Avenue to the bridge, just past the east junction of PTH 5.
Neepawa mayor Adrian de Groot said the Town is pleased to hear that these improvements are on the way.
“The street is deteriorating and some patching has been done over the past few years but it hasn’t really fixed the problem,” said de Groot. “So, the intermediate plans is to do some work in conjunction with the major improvements scheduled for Highway 16 between Gladstone and Neepawa is welcome.”
A long-term plan for the Functional Design work along PTH 16 was also explored during the meeting. De Groot said that the next steps that Council and administration will be working on are updating and developing their budget estimates for a phased approach.
“As for the longer term preparations, we’re working on a time table. Hopefully, by the fall we’ll have communication as to the timing of some additional work that’s being planned as part of that functional design,” said de Groot.
The mayor noted that another integral part of this design is the effort that is currently underway regarding the main trunk sewer line, planned for moving liquid waste from the west side of Neepawa to the lagoons. This work will alleviate issues currently experienced with the town’s westerly located sewer mains. Once firmer estimates, designs and timing are known, Council will start an information campaign to inform the general public as well as those directly affected by the road network design and eventual construction.
As for the short term upgrades to PTH 16, de Groot said there was no specific schedule for it to begin but did stress that it will be fit into this construction season.
“A lot of [the schedule] will be dependant on how contractor mobilization goes, as well as the weather. Those factors make it difficult for them to say ‘We’ll start it at the 15th of July,’ for example,” said de Groot. “What we do know though, is that it will happen in this construction year and we very much look forward to that.”
