In 2024 the city is on a roll with infrastructure projects that range from major street renewal and reconstruction to combine sewer separation. An Infrastructure Open House will be held May 2nd at Memorial Hall so the public can learn more about the millions being invested into our community this spring, summer and fall.
Transformative Main Street Revitalization Project
The stretch of Main Street north of Manitoba Avenue to Lake will be transformed to become vibrant, safe, accessible, and pedestrian-friendly. The city is partnering with the Province of Manitoba, who will be resurfacing the driving lanes, while the city invests $4,983,216 into improving turning lanes, boulevards, medians, and sidewalks, and will introduce modern, accessible crosswalks at Morris and Queen in a cost-effective move.
Additionally, Active Transportation (AT) pathways will be included on both sides of the street to provide safer routes for cyclists and pedestrians and will connect to the existing AT network.
The city will continue its naturalization efforts on the medians with shrubs, wildflowers, and prairie grasses, and will establish rain gardens at various intersections, which are designed to mitigate stormwater runoff and water plants. The project will also include the planting of new street trees, with many of them integrated into Silva Cells, which will optimize root growth and ensure long-term tree health.
The force main that runs along Main Street is a critical piece of infrastructure carrying 90% of the city’s sewage to the Wastewater Treatment Plant. To enhance this system and to prevent failure, a new secondary pipe is being installed along Main Street to enable switching between the old and new pipes. This work will allow the city to perform future upgrades to the existing pipe to enhance durability and avoid pipe failure and mass sewage leaks.
200 block of Toronto getting full reconstruction
The city will invest $1,788,000 into the 200 block of Toronto Avenue with a new street surface, sidewalk installation, watermain, and the separation of the sewer and storm sewer system, furthering the city’s commitment towards the separation of its combined sewer network, which in turn eliminates the potential of sewer backup in homes and adds capacity to the city’s storm water system.
The 200 block was identified through the Capital Asset Management Program (CAMP) as requiring a new watermain to allow a continuous flow of high-quality water into homes for years to come and drastically reduce the chance of a watermain break.
“There have been numerous watermain breaks in that area in the past year. We were able to learn of them quickly through our service tracking program, but it’s also led us to the upgrades on Toronto,” says Dan McDermid, Director of Operations.
“Sewer renewal liners will be also installed to extend the service life of existing sewer lines which will help to reduce the risk of sewer main breaks and sewer back up.”
The road surface is rated as poor condition through CAMP, so it will be resurfaced and since there was no existing sidewalk, one will be installed, making the street safer for pedestrians. Curb and gutter work will take place as well.
Mercy Street Resurfacing and AT Integration
Sections of Mercy Street have poor and very poor condition ratings through CAMP. Following the reconstruction of portions of this important street over the past few years, the city will be resurfacing other sections of the street.
This year Mercy from Strathnaver Ave to Pacific Ave and from Vaughan Ave to McLean Ave will be resurfaced to improve road safety and address the condition of the roadway.
In addition to these resurfacing projects, the city will be adding a dedicated bike lane to the street as identified in the City’s Active Transportation Strategy. This new lane will provide the city’s first north/south bike lane and will provide the four schools along the way with a safe pathway for students to ride their bikes to school.
“Active transportation is important to the City of Selkirk and we’re happy to be able to provide a safe space for kids and adults to ride their bikes,” said Mayor Larry Johannson.
“Our AT pathways have grown a lot over the last few years, going east and west alongside Manitoba Avenue all the way to Eveline and into the park, and now, this new lane will let people ride, and walk, north to south, pretty much the entire length of the city. I’m a fan of getting outside in the fresh air and moving, so this is fantastic.”
The three-kilometer multi-directional lane will be located on the west side of Mercy, on the street surface. It will allow for cyclists to travel in both directions and will have dividing lines and directional arrows painted, much like streets.
“The west side was selected because it impacts fewer property owners, crosses fewer intersections, and has larger properties and green spaces,” said McDermid.
The total investment on Mercy Avenue is $950,000 and will be partially paid for with a grant from the Government of Canada.
The total that will be spent on infrastructure this year is $8,253,325.
To stay informed and up to date on the city’s infrastructure projects, sign up for infrastructure updates at MySelkirk.ca/InfrastructureUpdates and visit the upcoming open house on May 2 from 3-7pm at Memorial Hall.
