One more hurdle has been crossed in the effort to reconstruct the intersection of Highway 12 and Loewen Boulevard in Steinbach.

This week, Steinbach City Council awarded the engineering and project administration contract to WSP Canada Inc for the amount of $414,302 plus disbursements.

The City of Steinbach issued a Request for Proposal on June 2nd of this year to solicit proposals from qualified consulting engineering companies to provide services for the work required to complete this project. The project generally consists of sewer and water renewals, roadway reconstruction and sidewalk reconstruction to reconfigure the roadway geometry at that intersection. There were five proposals received.

"WSP Canada presented the best offer," says City Councillor Michael Zwaagstra. "And so that's why we're awarding the engineering contract to them."

He notes this is a positive step forward.

"We know that the intersection of PTH 12 and Loewen Boulevard is the last of the intersections along Brandt Road that have not been upgraded," points out Zwaagstra. "And so we know that based on our traffic studies and our own personal experiences that this intersection badly needs to be reconstructed."

"We know that is an intersection that has had a lot of problems in the last few years as the city is growing and it can not handle the amount of traffic that's going through it now," adds Mayor Earl Funk.

He says this is a project that will be cost shared with the province of Manitoba, noting the province will cover the costs along Highway 12, while Steinbach will handle the costs associated with Loewen Boulevard.

"We're hoping we can get a shovel in the ground in 2022 and then of course it will be completed in 2023," he says.