A cloverleaf planned for Highway 59 and the North Perimeter is drawing criticism from nearby residents.
Hundreds packed a public meeting on Wednesday night to ask questions and voice their concerns.
Many East St. Paul residents worried about the closure of several access roads around the new infrastructure.
“Three mile trip to get out to the highway, or a three mile trip for the ambulance to get to your house if you have an emergency,” said resident Jim Campbell.
Campbell called the closures dangerous, and said some access roads need to stay open.
The province has a potential solution. It proposed a connection for vehicles that would link the Raleigh/Gateway corridor across the North Perimeter.
But the suggestion proved unpopular with some North Kildonan residents.
“There could possibly be 30,000 cars a day redirected from East St Paul into the City of Winnipeg down little two-way residential streets,” said Cathy Cox.
Cox got the traffic estimate from a 2008 master plan created by East St. Paul. She said that amount of traffic is dangerous on roads that children and seniors cross.
City Councillor Jeff Browaty also said the province’s suggestion won’t work.
“Unfortunately, city infrastructure on the city side of the Perimeter highway isn’t designed in that area to handle that volume of traffic,” said Browaty.
Provincial Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Steve Ashton said he’s heard the complaints.
“Certainly we’ll look at some of the issues of concern, but this is not unusual when you’re moving to a major infrastructure investment,” said Ashton.
He said the project isn’t meant to feed more traffic into any one area. Ashton said the new cloverleaf will benefit everyone by improving traffic flow. He said the project will move forward, and expects construction to begin next year.
