Who is footing bill for new overpass?

Well, it’s about time!

Finally, after decades of having a freeway with a level railway crossing, the serious discussions are beginning to hopefully alleviate a headache for most Reginans, constructing an overpass at the Winnipeg Street railway crossing on Ring Road. The only question that remains is — who’s going to pay for it? Will this be another excuse to raise property taxes even higher? Will the federal and provincial governments contribute their fair share? Will those from outside of Regina help foot the bill, since they use the Ring Road just as much as anyone else?

When the Ring Road was constructed, there was one glaring flaw — a level railway crossing on a road with a speed limit of 100 km/h. Thankfully, with the $2-billion Regina bypass, they’ve learned their lesson. Interestingly, there has been a plan to reconfigure the Winnipeg Street overpass anyway, so one would hope that they will do it all together and not duplicate efforts. Or worse yet, as we are seeing along the Trans-Canada Highway at the Global Transportation Hub turnoff, the destruction of a brand new overpass and reconstruction, costing taxpayers tens of millions.

I wonder why is there no talk about relocating the rail lines outside of the city — completely removing the need for more overpasses on the Ring Road? Donald Neuls, Coppersands