CEO's Message -
"Building Bridges & Linking Communities"
 In the 2008 Throne Speech, the Government of Manitoba announced that the
Manitoba Floodway Authority (MFA) would be given the mandate for the construction
of an all-season road on the east side of Lake Winnipeg.
In the meantime, the East Side Road Authority (ESRA), a newly established
interim agency, has been established to undertake the work. To move the
project forward, ESRA has established the East Side Transportation Initiative
which is composed of two initial priority areas:
-
The East Side Large Area Transportation Network Study – a study to examine transportation
infrastructure improvements for the East Side of Lake Winnipeg
-
Provincial Road PR 304 to Berens River First Nation – consisting
of the pre-design and environmental assessment and the subsequent construction
of an all-season road.
As a first step, ESRA has filed an environmental application with federal
and provincial regulators and has begun work on its Environmental Impact
Assessment for the all-season road from PR 304 to Berens River First Nation.
Already, a number of public open houses and community meetings have been
held to gather input from local residents. Pending environmental approval,
construction of the road will begin in the fall of 2010, while upgrades to the Rice River Road and other preliminary work is ongoing.
At the same time as work is proceeding on first leg of the all-season
road, input is also being gathered from local residents regarding potential
options to improve transportation for other communities in the region as
part of Large Area Transportation Network Study. We look forward to updating
local people on this initiative as the study proceeds.
As the initiative proceeds, ESRA is committed to ensuring that economic benefits flow to east side communities. Construction of an all-season
road on the east side provides a unique and historic opportunity to ensure
that local people benefit from employment, training and economic development
opportunities offered by this infrastructure investment.
At the same time, we also recognize the enormous opportunity that the
boreal forest represents for local residents and all Manitobans. For this
reason, we are committed to undertaking construction in a manner that respects
the environment and is consistent with the proposed UNESCO World Heritage
Designation.
Working with local people to ensure that the all-season road network meets
their needs and is based on a model of environmental sustainability is
our commitment. We look forward to following through on this commitment
as we improve transportation on the east side of Lake Winnipeg.
Sincerely,
Ernie Gilroy,
CEO
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