Winnipeg Transit plans to spend $53M to expand, modernize maintenance garage

Winnipeg Transit plans to spend $53.2 million to expand and modernize its primary maintenance garage and expects the feds and province to pick up three-quarters of the tab.

According to a new report to council's public works committee, Transit plans to expand its existing Fort Rouge transit-maintenance garage to 174,000 square feet from its existing 113,000 square feet in order to properly house its640-vehiclebus fleetand get more into buses on to the streets.

It also plans to move its welding, fabrication, body and paint shop into the new area.

The lack of maintenance capacity was a factor in last year's transit slowdown, which saw service reductions take place while buses were off the road with engine problems.

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The report comes before the public works committee on Monday.

It calls for $14 million of city funding, $13 million from the province and $26 million from Ottawa, but casts doubt on the city's ability to access the federal funds.

"Approval of this capital project is subject to confirmation of Federal and Provincial funding," writes transit plannerTim VanDekerkhove, noting the federal money may be contingent on the project being completed in March 2018.

"A March 2018 completion date would be challenging to achieve, and as such, should be reviewed prior to finalization of any funding agreements," he wrote.