Disraeli Bridge Reconstruction (completed)

[bimbamboom]

I think the Disraeli deserves its own thread.

From the Free Press:

City council has approved a plan to ask private construction companies to design, build and finance the Disraeli Bridge and Freeway rehabilitation project and repair the 1.1-kilometre roadway afterwards.
Council voted 11-4 in favour of using a public-private partnership to finance the repairs, which city accountants believe can be made more cheaply in the long run via the P3 model.
Couns. Lillian Thomas (Elmwood), Dan Vandal (St. Boniface), Jenny Gerbasi (Fort Rouge) and Harvey Smith (Daniel McIntyre) voted against the plan, primarily because they question whether public-private partnerships actually provide the city with more value for its money.
The city's chief financial officer has not placed a price tag on the Disraeli project because he believes floating that figure in public could drive up the cost. But the public works department has estimated the project will cost between $125 million and $160 million.
Couns. Thomas and Vandal also asked whether it would make more sense to expand the Disraeli Freeway to six lanes from its current four by replacing the existing single-span bridge with two spans. This idea, which is supported by Elmwood MLA Jim Maloway, could prevent the complete closure of the freeway during the construction process -- but could also double the cost of the project.

[bimbamboom]

From the Free Press:

NDP backbencher Jim Maloway was savaged on the floor of city council Wednesday as Mayor Sam Katz and three of his allies took turns bashing the veteran Elmwood MLA and his vision for the Disraeli freeway.
A debate about financing for the Disraeli rehabilitation degenerated into a nasty free-for-all as Katz suggested Maloway was a coward, Deputy Mayor Brenda Leipsic questioned the MLA's office expenses and Couns. Bill Clement and Russ Wyatt accused the seven-term politician of opportunism -- all because Maloway is on a crusade to widen the freeway from four to six lanes.
The actual issue that appeared before council was a plan to pursue a public-private partnership to repair the decaying Disraeli Bridge and Freeway, as initially proposed in early 2007.
City accountants believe it will be cheaper to ask a private construction consortium to design, build and finance the repairs for the 1.1-kilometre roadway and then maintain the structure afterwards. The city's public works department has estimated the three-year rehabilitation will cost $125 million to $160 million.
After a 75-minute debate, council voted 11-4 in favour of the public-private partnership, or P3. Left-leaning Couns. Lillian Thomas, Dan Vandal, Harvey Smith and Jenny Gerbasi voted against the plan, primarily because they question the long-term financial benefits of P3s.
But Thomas, Vandal and North Kildonan Coun. Jeff Browaty also asked whether it would be wiser to replace the four-lane, single-span Disraeli Bridge with two new spans bearing three lanes each-- a plan promoted by Maloway in a public advertising campaign.
That appeared to set off Katz and some of his allies, who remain annoyed with Maloway for wading into the debate over the closure of Kelvin Community Centre in January 2007.
"I wish he had the courage to come here and make a presentation," the mayor said. "This MLA has been around for years. He's a career politician. Why he's not in cabinet, you can draw your own conclusion, but I think we have a problem with representation in (that riding)."
Leipsic slammed Maloway for using public funds to mount an advertising campaign, while Clement and Wyatt suggested the Elmwood MLA is a lazy opportunist.
Attacks on politicians are not uncommon on the floor of council, but the targets are usually present in the chamber. Maloway, who could not appear at city council because the Manitoba legislature was in session, said he can handle anything Katz and his deputies can throw at him.
"They're a vicious group, but they know I have them on the run," he said, calling the mayor a "bully who likes to get his way."
While he acknowledged a six-lane, two span Disraeli Freeway might cost $350 million SEmD more than double the current estimated pricetag SEmD he said Winnipeg has not even bothered to find out if the provincial government is interested in splitting the bill.
"The city has not even asked us to participate, because they want to hand it over to their friends in the private sector," he said, describing the existing Disraeli plan SEmD which calls for a 16-month bridge closure SEmD a disaster for residents of northeast Winnipeg.
Maloway said the vast majority of Elmwood, East Kildonan and North Kildonan residents agree with him. But he does not enjoy the support of all left-leaning members of council.
Gerbasi, who has close ties to the provincial NDP, said it would be financially irresponsible to spend an extra $200 million to twin the Disraeli Bridge just to avoid a 16-month traffic headache -- and environmentally irresponsible to create more motor-vehicle capacity.
bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

[rrskylar]

PC MLA (River East) Bonnie Mitchelson is also in favour of a bridge with 3 lanes each way!


As a resident of NE Winnipeg I'm also in favour of having 3 lanes each way, the roadways on either side of the bridge are also 3 lanes so creating a bottleneck is a bit stupid, there is also a sharp turn as you proceed north off the bridge that always creates a traffic backup. Also I don't know how many times there has been a stalled car causing enormous delays by taking one lane out of commission, this it happens all the time in the winter usually at rush hour, 3 lanes would alleviate this.

It boggles my mind that the city would even consider not increasing the bridge capacity for a bridge originally built for 1959 traffic needs when the population of NE Winnipeg was probably half of what it is today and your alternatives are two antiquated single lane bridges that themselves can't handle todays traffic!

In the words of the FOOD Networks Gordon Ramsay......fUCK mE!

[1ajs]

• Video Link

[JayM]

Haha I love that picture with the hole..

Its called a freeway and only has 2 lanes? That has always boggled my mind. At least with three lanes they can have dedicated transit/biking. Not to mention a barrier between the vehicles and sidewalk path across.

No matter what if the city just rehabs the current bridge and overpass its going to be a waste of time and money. Save the time and effort tear it down. It's and ugly Express/Freeway whatever you wish to call it.

Make the whole roadwork elevated starting from Henderson to around or near the Adult Education. Forget about the on/off ramps between. Then it can be called a Expressway.

[1ajs]

lage should be elivated highway all the way threw befor they do henderson....

[Only The Lonely..]

Jim Maloway is a useless piece of shit.

I wouldn't take anything he has to say too seriously.

Disreali shoule be least thee lanes each way because of the realities of our city in the 21st century. Not because of anything JIm Malloway has said.

The fact of the matter is that a quarter of a million people now live in Elmwood, the Kildonans, and East St.Paul. A reconstructed Disraeli bridge shoud contain nothing less than six lanes.

[JayM]

Originally Posted by Only The Lonely..

Jim Maloway is a useless piece of shit.

I wouldn't take anything he has to say too seriously.

Disreali shoule be least thee lanes each way because of the realities of our city in the 21st century. Not because of anything JIm Malloway has said.

The fact of the matter is that a quarter of a million people now live in Elmwood, the Kildonans, and East St.Paul. A reconstructed Disraeli bridge shoud contain nothing less than six lanes.

Exactly. There is just way to many vehicles crossing over, and 2 North/Southbound Lanes just isn't enough its just going to be the same tight ass traffic. I'm not saying more is better but 3 would be sufficient.

[rrskylar]

MLA resents 'personal attacks' over Disraeli

By: Bartley Kives

Updated: May 22 at 08:26 AM CDT

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NDP backbencher Jim Maloway has complained about "personal attacks" from city council, which have included a call for the Elmwood MLA to restrict his "yellow slime" to his side of the Red River.

Over the past month, Maloway has been needling the city over its plan to repair the four-lane Disraeli Bridge and Freeway instead of building a brand-new, six-lane structure -- which could cost approximately double the expected budget of $125 million to $160 million.

After the veteran MLA took out a bright yellow ad in a community newspaper encouraging constituents to castigate city councillors, he was criticized on the floor of council on May 14 by Mayor Sam Katz and Couns. Brenda Leipsic (River Heights), Bill Clement (Charleswood), Russ Wyatt (Transcona) and Jenny Gerbasi (Fort Rouge).

Undaunted, Maloway begin forwarding e-mails from constituents to every member of council, prompting Couns. Gord Steeves (St. Vital) and Scott Fielding (St. James) to sarcastically inquire whether the career backbencher could secure the extra bridge-construction funds required from Premier Gary Doer.

But the tone of the exchange grew more serious late Tuesday night, when Maloway complained to Steeves about "personal attacks" from council.

"What would your reaction be if each city councillor took out an ad attacking you? I am serious, Jim," Steeves wrote back in an e-mail that wound up in wide circulation at city hall Wednesday.

"I want to be clear. I see your involvement in this issue as nothing more than blatant political grandstanding of the worst kind, designed for nothing more than raising your own profile. You could have chosen a much more constructive political role."

St. Charles Coun. Grant Nordman was even less diplomatic.

"Keep your yellow slime on your side of the Red River, Maloway," he said, referring to the ad campaign. "We in the west don't need it."

Maloway, a seven-term MLA, is among several politicians and labour leaders considering a stab at the federal NDP nomination in the Transcona riding currently represented by retiring Commons institution Bill Blaikie.

But the provincial politician said he's only waging his war on council to highlight the fact northeast Winnipeg motorists will face a 16-month Disraeli closure, thanks to the city's construction plan.

"There seems to be a bias against the east side of the city," said Maloway in an interview. "It's OK for us to sit in car traffic for one year and four months and end up with one refurbished structure and two antiques in the Redwood and Louise bridges? Try doing that in St. James or Charleswood."

Maloway also criticized NDP-affiliated Coun. Gerbasi, who dismissed the six-lane Disraeli plan last week on environmental grounds, for failing to express similar ecological concerns when the Glen Murray administration approved the rehabilitation of the Provencher Bridge.

To date, Maloway has either criticized or faced criticism from nine out of 16 members of city council over the past week. Only Couns. Lillian Thomas (Elmwood), Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) and Dan Vandal (St. Boniface) have spoken in support of the MLA's desire to twin the Disraeli Bridge and Freeway -- which would require funds the city does not have.

Maloway said he has spoken to Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Steve Ashton about his wishes, but concedes he has not approached Doer, who actually controls the province's purse strings.

City council will eventually cave in to public pressure, especially "once the ballots add up," Maloway predicted.

Council has already approved a plan to pursue a public-private partnership to design, build and finance the repairs to the Disraeli Bridge and Freeway and then maintain the 1.1-kilometre roadway once construction is complete.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

[harls]

which could cost approximately double the expected budget of $125 million to $160 million.

Nice math. Sounds a little exagerrated.

[Biff]

The key to the budget of a new twin span, six lane structure is that instead of refurbishing the existing piers and deck for $160 m, you would now have to demolish the existing twin "humps" and build 4 new three lane bridges complete with NEW concrete piers and decking. A considerable amount of money. Double sounds probably right.

I say fuck the humps and build a nice cable stay or suspension bridge over the whole thing. (preferably right to my house)

[swolfe]

Originally Posted by harls

Nice math. Sounds a little exagerrated.

It was worded poorly, but I think they meant the budget would double from their current range (125-160mil) to between 250-320 million.

[1ajs]

a cable stay bridge would be sweet speacly if they did not cheap out on the design

[harls]

Originally Posted by swolfe

It was worded poorly, but I think they meant the budget would double from their current range (125-160mil) to between 250-320 million.

ah.. that makes more sense!

[flatlander]

Originally Posted by Only The Lonely..

Jim Maloway is a useless piece of shit.

I wouldn't take anything he has to say too seriously.

Disreali shoule be least thee lanes each way because of the realities of our city in the 21st century. Not because of anything JIm Malloway has said.

The fact of the matter is that a quarter of a million people now live in Elmwood, the Kildonans, and East St.Paul. A reconstructed Disraeli bridge shoud contain nothing less than six lanes.

Useless piece of shit? He's the only one saying it. He's right, the rest of the city wouldn't put up with it. That being said I'd leave it two lanes, and I would've been satisfied with smaller provencher and norwood bridges. But that's just me.

Your comments are all politics and no substance.

[Only The Lonely..]

Originally Posted by flatlander

Useless piece of shit? He's the only one saying it. He's right, the rest of the city wouldn't put up with it. That being said I'd leave it two lanes, and I would've been satisfied with smaller provencher and norwood bridges. But that's just me.

Your comments are all politics and no substance.

Jim Maloway is just grandstanding because he wants the federal nomination for Transcona.

It should be three lanes because it makes sense to build it three lanes each way not because of anything he has to say.

I recognize that it is probably cost prohibitive to do this, but that still doesn't mean it isn't the right thing to do.

[Boreal]

I'm getting tired of the arguement that more lanes directly equals exponential increases in emissions. In the short interim, perhaps. The reality is, that as fuel costs rise there is a very real and sizeable demand on auto manufactures to produce fuel-efficient and soon fuel-independent vehicles. Concept cars are probably ~7-10 years from being fixtures in the marketplace. Roads, and sizeable ones at that (where warranted) are not just good for society, but necessary. Vehicles and rapid transit can co-exist. In fact, the auto industry is absolutely necessary for the economic well being of Canada.

Perhaps this is somewhat tangential to the arguement at hand. For that I apologize. I've just grown frustrated with how far to one side the environmental arguement has swung (not necessarily on this board, just in general).

[1ajs]

traffic congestion is down since 1996 in winnipeg though beleave it or not

[Greco Roman]

My understanding from a friend back home is that they are planning on putting atgrade intersection for Disreili where it stands right now (well, where streets meet it anyways) and also that the city plans to put an atgrade intersection at Jubilee and Pembina.

How much more backwards progression, antiprogressive, hickish mentality can you get?

I"m sorry, but Winnipeg sucks in terms of it's longterm vision, both in roadways and rapid transit planning. Once again, we need to get the fossils at city hall out and some young blood with vision in. Please.

[JayM]

Originally Posted by Greco Roman

My understanding from a friend back home is that they are planning on putting atgrade intersection for Disreili where it stands right now (well, where streets meet it anyways) and also that the city plans to put an atgrade intersection at Jubilee and Pembina.

How much more backwards progression, antiprogressive, hickish mentality can you get?

I"m sorry, but Winnipeg sucks in terms of it's longterm vision, both in roadways and rapid transit planning. Once again, we need to get the fossils at city hall out and some young blood with vision in. Please.

Well that is the most horse-shit I've ever heard of.. What The Hell??! That is backwards and freaking crazy talk.