City planning 200 projects this year, leading to longer-lasting roads
You don't have to tell Jubilee Avenue homeowner John Haynes road construction season is in full swing.
The stretch of Jubilee Avenue near his house is undergoing major surgery, causing some disruptions.
“Very noisy, very noisy – lots of traffic backups," said Haynes
The crews are digging down deep to overhaul the road. Haynes said the inconvenience is worth it to fix all of the streets in disrepair.
"They're in very bad shape, every neighbourhood I go to is very, very bad," he said.
With financial help from the federal and provincial governments, the City of Winnipeg has planned 200 projects this year worth $165 million, totalling 175 kilometres of lanes.
On top of this, the final products might last longer.
"In addition to making the investments, we want to make sure that we're getting the value for those investments," said Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman.
Because of work in a lab at the University of Manitoba, the city said the lifecycle of roads has increased by 15 per cent.
Civil Engineering Professor Ahmed Shalaby said his group has been fine-tuning the materials used to give roads two more years of use.
“Compared to specifications of the City of Winnipeg about five or ten years ago, we're using now materials that are stronger and drain better,” said Shalaby.
Shalaby said this might cost more upfront, but it saves money down the road.
"It's only for one or two years, after which price comes down, and then we get the benefit of the longer service life," said Shalaby.
He said his group is also experimenting with the ability to pave in cold climate, to push construction season a couple more weeks in November.
John Haynes would like to see the lives of streets stretched out so fewer repairs are needed.
"Because less construction would be better," Haynes said. "We're known for three seasons and one is construction (season) and that's no good."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Statistics Canada to release July inflation reading this morning
Statistics Canada is expected to release July's inflation data this morning. Economists believe the inflation rate may have already peaked given the recent drop in gas prices, which fuelled May and June's inflation reading.

OPINION | Economists are forecasting a recession, how should you prepare?
The next time the Bank of Canada raises interest rates on the scheduled date of September 7, 2022, it could potentially trigger a recession. Although there may be a chance that we don’t enter into a recession and the BoC is still hoping for a soft landing, it’s best to be prepared. Contributor Christopher Liew explains how.
Blasts, fire hits military depot in Russian-annexed Crimea
Massive explosions and fires hit a military depot in Russia-annexed Crimea on Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of more than 3,000 people, the second time in recent days that the Ukraine war's focus has turned to the peninsula.
One in four border officers witnessed discrimination by colleagues: internal report
One-quarter of front line employees surveyed at Canada's border agency said they had directly witnessed a colleague discriminate against a traveller in the previous two years.
Minister asks Canadians not to fake travel plans to skip passport application lines
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development of Canada Karina Gould is discouraging people from making fake travel plans just to skip the line of those waiting for passports.
Green Canadian hydrogen not an immediate solution to Germany's energy worries
Some energy experts warn a deal to sell Canadian hydrogen to Germany will serve as only a small, far-off and expensive part of the solution to Europe's energy crisis.
Canadians favour metric system despite often using imperial measurements: poll
While many Canadians don’t support moving away from the metric system of measurement, many continue to use imperial measurements in their daily lives, according to a recent online poll.
'We've been abandoned': Man dies in B.C. town waiting for health care near ambulance station
For the second time in less than a month, a resident of Ashcroft, B.C., died while waiting for health care after having a heart attack mere metres from a local ambulance station.
'I have to fight for myself': Quadriplegic man says N.S. government told him to live in a hospital
A diving accident at 14-years-old left Brian Parker paralyzed from the chest down. Now at age 49, he's without the person who was caring for him full-time until just last week, after his 68-year-old mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.