City council approved a $2.3-million land purchase that will pave the way toward improved access to Anthony Henday Drive.
The land purchases, discussed behind closed doors Monday, will allow the city to widen Boudreau Road and Sir Winston Churchill Avenue. Both roads will provide access to ramps leading to the ring road. The southern road widening will also accommodate access to LeClair Way.
The land for the Sir Winston Churchill Avenue widening cost $1.87 million, while the Boudreau purchase added another $400,000. Although the city saved money from the 2010 budget to purchase the lands, they were left with a $113,500 shortfall, which council chose to fill by using funds from a capital reserve.
According to general manager of planning and engineering Neil Jamieson, the purchase agreements were waiting on council's approval before they could go forward. Now that the city is cleared to go ahead, Jamieson said a proposal for tenders is set to go out, with the hope of starting construction no later than early June.
"We would like to get the majority of the work done this year," he said in an interview. "Majority of the work is land construction."
‘Fair deal'
Mayor Nolan Crouse said the city negotiated a fair deal with the former landowners, saying the land was purchased at market value. However, he added that such purchases needed the city to move quickly, especially with the northwest leg of the Henday set to open in 2011.
"The stakes are high in this," he said. "They were very well planned [purchases]…we've always needed these lands."
Jamieson said there were still some other land purchases under negotiation, but added that they are for future projects that may not be critical to the Anthony Henday Drive development. He said he would have liked to see the deal wrapped last year but understands how delicate such negotiations can be.
