Manitoba Highways

[Dengler Avenue]

Those interchanges will for sure be modified, but not as much. Just look at how NB twins its TCH (NB HWY 2).

Obviously blasting rocks will be the rocky part of the project for either province. (Yes, that pun was intended.)

Also, that 4-lane section isn't even a kilometer long... That's what I found misleading about the 2nd picture in that article.

I know that the political will doesn't exist in MB, but if anything this is the best time to ask the feds for the money.

[bomberjet]

Ya I just meant that since it's 4 lanes, that's where they should connect to each other. So they could be done independently. Manitoba would just have to build a bit of road to the border.

[Dengler Avenue]

Yea someone else said that from there to the border is only 50 meters.

WE ARE COUNTING IN METERS!

MB might want to convert the neighbouring 2 intersections into RIRO in that case, though, since they seem too close to one another.

[Danny D Oh]

Searching Manitoba RFP's and came across one for a "Review of Manitoba Infrastructure's Services Delivery Model."

https://www.merx4.merx.com/public/so...52162/abstract

Looks like infrastructure is going to get the KPMG treatment like healthcare.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by Danny D Oh

Searching Manitoba RFP's and came across one for a "Review of Manitoba Infrastructure's Services Delivery Model."

https://www.merx4.merx.com/public/so...52162/abstract

Looks like infrastructure is going to get the KPMG treatment like healthcare.

Oh you mean a review to see where money is actually going and ways to improve efficiency which the former NDP regime cared little about, just raise taxes was there only solution to anything!

[bomberjet]

That's good. The entire government should be put under these reviews every 5 years or something. If one department is buying something and another department is buying the same, they need to coordinate.

I don't see much change when tendering projects, etc. They already have a pre-qualification list for engineering services, which ensures they get the people they want while still being competitive.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Finally
http://killarneyguide.ca/2018/11/22/...ded-next-year/

Change to A1 Unrestricted rating would reduce municipal road damage: mayor
BY KIM LANGEN

It may not be exactly what the mayor ordered, but it will mark a big improvement when it comes to battered roads and hammered taxpayer dollars.

Rick Pauls, mayor for the Municipality of Killarney-Turtle Mountain, said he heard from the offices of Manitoba Infrastructure on Wednesday that plans are afoot to finally improve conditions on the well-travelled Highway 18, going north from town.

“I have been contacted by the department, and they have told me that next year they are going to grind the highway right down to the base,” said Pauls. “And then they are repairing it. It will become an A1 Unrestricted road.”

Pauls said he had been told that the tenders were going out soon for the much-anticipated highway work.

“It’s going for tender, and tenders close in March of 2019, for work to be done in that year,” he said.

The repaving project would include Hwy. 18 starting at the north limit of town, near the Manitoba Hydro office and the HyLife Feed Mill, and extend to the northern junction of Hwy. 23.

Manitoba Infrastructure, in its Fall 2018 Advertising Schedule for Construction and Material Supply Tenders, describes the work slated for Hwy. 18 as ‘Bituminous Rehabilitation.’

The municipality has been lobbying hard for years for an RTAC-rated highway improvement project, but this was still good news, said Pauls, because it will help keep the heavy trucks and trailers off the municipal roads when spring weight restrictions come into force each year.

“We wanted the restrictions off,” he said. “This is big news. It will save us huge tax dollars when it comes to maintaining our municipal gravel roads. It won’t have the RTAC rating, which just means it will be a little narrower.”

[esquire]

^ what is the significance of an RTAC rating? Which other highways are RTAC rated?

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ what is the significance of an RTAC rating? Which other highways are RTAC rated?

I'll have to look that up. I think it means a highway that can take heavier and wider loads?

Found it.
RTAC: (Acronym for “Road Transportation Association of Canada, now known as
Transportation Association of Canada or “TAC”.)
• when used in reference to a highway, RTAC is one of the highway classifications in the national standard – RTAC, A1 and B1
• when used in reference to a commercial vehicle, RTAC is a vehicle that complies with the Heavy Truck Weight and Dimension Limits for Interprovincial Operations in Canada (resulting from the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Memorandum of Understanding on Interprovincial Weights and Dimensions).

https://www.gov.mb.ca/mit/mcd/mce/pd...ions_guide.pdf

[esquire]

^ Thank you... I had seen the term referenced before but I had no idea what it meant.

[Dengler Avenue]

I can’t find the politics thread so I’ll just leave this here: https://winnipegsun.com/opinion/colu...cture-spending

[Winnipegger]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

I can’t find the politics thread so I’ll just leave this here: https://winnipegsun.com/opinion/colu...cture-spending

With both the City and the Province dialing back significantly on capital investment in infrastructure in a province that already has a significant infrastructure deficit, Manitoba is not going to be a very pretty place to live in 20 years from now.

Investments in infrastructure are proven to increase regional labour productivity (which helps private investment), often have a positive rate of return when all things are considered, and a large component of the money spent goes straight back to the local construction labour force and regional suppliers.

I'm not saying we shouldn't be wary of taking on more debt at all levels of government, but as Broadbeck correctly outlines, there is a careful balance that must be struck because reducing capital investment reduces Manitoba's attractiveness to external businesses and residents, and leads to quicker deterioration of existing assets, frustrating existing businesses and residents.

Pretty soon our capital budgets are going to go almost entirely to maintenance and pothole filling, all in an attempt to reduce the PST by 1% at the provincial level and keep property tax rates among the lowest of all major Canadian cities at the municipal level.

[Dengler Avenue]

In that case, though, I'd say people get what they pay for.

Gotta put money where the mouth is, eh?

[bomberjet]

Ugh. Tom Broadbeck..

I don't think anyone should be surprised by this. It was discussed at length during the election. Cutting everything back.

This is why I'll be very surprised if anything major happens on the South Perimeter beyond closing the median openings.

[Winnipegger]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

In that case, though, I'd say people get what they pay for.

Gotta put money where the mouth is, eh?

Oh of course. I'd say Manitobans prefer to have low taxes and low provision of public goods, versus high taxes and high provision of public goods. The net result is that our province tends to lack much of the public amenities seen in other provinces, and the ones that we do have are of a lesser standard.

This is simply a reflection of the public's will. If enough people wanted to get more stuff built, they would express their concern. But instead the fiscal conservatives in this province tend to have the loudest voice, so the province is trending away from public investment. There's nothing wrong with holding that position, it's a completely valid one. But it's not without its consequences.

[bomberjet]

People in general tend to believe their governments know everything and are doing the best they possibly could. This is because people don't pay attention to politics because its boring. Not because people in Manitoba don't want nice things, or to have a great economy. people just don't know how to get it done by sacrificing over there to get this done over there.

Do we want a freeway around the City, floor protection, better health care, better schools? Well you better pick one because we aren't getting everything. Instead, we spread the dollars very thin and end up with everything being shit, instead of a couple things.

[Riverman]

Just remember, money doesn't grow on trees. If there was always sound fiscal management there would be no debt, which would free up a BILLION dollars a year.

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by Winnipegger

Oh of course. I'd say Manitobans prefer to have low taxes and low provision of public goods, versus high taxes and high provision of public goods. The net result is that our province tends to lack much of the public amenities seen in other provinces, and the ones that we do have are of a lesser standard.

This is simply a reflection of the public's will. If enough people wanted to get more stuff built, they would express their concern. But instead the fiscal conservatives in this province tend to have the loudest voice, so the province is trending away from public investment. There's nothing wrong with holding that position, it's a completely valid one. But it's not without its consequences.

If Manitobans prefer to have low taxes, why aren't we getting it? We have the second highest income tax rates in Canada next to Quebec.

[Winnipegger]

Originally Posted by cheswick

If Manitobans prefer to have low taxes, why aren't we getting it? We have the second highest income tax rates in Canada next to Quebec.

You are absolutely correct; we are extremely noncompetitive from a provincial tax regime perspective. Our tax brackets are ridiculous and the high PST compounds this issue not only from a consumers perspective, but also from businesses since businesses can't write of PST-related expenses in Manitoba, but Provinces with HST can. This is mostly due to decades of poor fiscal management at the provincial level, and also the result of geographical challenges arising from being a flood-prone province and demographic challenges which add strain to our healthcare and primary/secondary education systems.

But when Manitobans elected Pallister, they signaled that they want to reduce the budgetary deficit at the cost of public services, which we are seeing right now. Prior to this, Manitobans signaled that their preference for tax dollar investments is to go in to areas that are not related to infrastructure investment (aside from flood control).

From a municipal perspective, taxpayers remain committed to keeping property tax low (likely because they feel burdened by high provincial taxes) and commercial tax rates low relative to other Canadian cities, and also show resistance to alternative forms of taxation such as the impact fee. This suggests that Winnipeggers prefer to live in a low tax, low public amenity environment as opposed to a high tax, high public amenity environment. This is a valid stance to take, it just means that people and businesses who don't hold this preference and place a higher value on public goods and infrastructure will locate elsewhere given the chance.

While Manitoba seems to be more in a "moderate tax - low public amenity" situation as of late, the public has clearly identified which direction they want to move in.

[Dengler Avenue]

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...10164&page=105
#2100

That question’s more suited here.