It's not what council had envisioned, but Portage la Prairie City Council's decided to approve a railroad crossing upgrade on 8th Street North West. When the project was first brought forward to committee, some questioned the work as the current crossing at 18th Street North West has no guard arms, and felt it should be a high priority for improvement. However, Transportation Chair Melissa Draycott says they've decided to move forward with the 8th Street work, as the other upgrade has yet to be approved by the federal government.

"It's cost efficient to do it at this point in time, because if we're able to transport funds allocated for a different upgrade that hasn't been approved by Transport Canada, then it's essentially like we're able to use budgeted funds for this particular crossing upgrade. That's why we decided to go ahead with it this evening."

The total cost of the project is expected to be just over $415,000, with Transport Canada covering 50 per cent of the cost, the city covering 25 per cent, and CP Rail covering the remaining 25 per cent. Council intends to use funds that were set aside for the 18th Street work to cover their $103,781 share of the cost. Draycott says they'll now aim to take on the 18th Street project next year.

"For the 18th Street crossing we'll have to budget for those upgrades and send that proposal to Transport Canada to get authorization to move ahead with that as well. I believe we'll be looking at doing that in the coming months, so we're able to include it in the coming year's budget, and have the adequate amount of time for Transport Canada to go ahead and approve that."

This upgrade aims to increase safety at the crossing, by providing a well-timed warning to those passing over the tracks. Draycott says the approval of the 8th Street work comes at a good time, noting last night's meeting also saw council approve a resolution designating April 25th to May 1 Railway Safety Month.