Waverley West Arterial Roads Project (WWARP) Part 3 – From Paper to Pavement

The Waverley West Arterial Roads Project (WWARP) extends Kenaston Boulevard to the Perimeter Highway, relieving congestion on adjacent arterial routes, servicing the new Waverley West neighbourhoods, and creating a new north-south arterial route in southwest Winnipeg.

Kenaston Boulevard was designated an economic route within the City of Winnipeg, Capital, Region and Province of Manitoba. It also provides access to new residential and commercial zones within the Waverley West neighbourhoods and, as a result, provides service to high volumes of commuter traffic.

This complex, multi-disciplinary project had unique design aspects that were considered in the delivery of this project. The tri-level government funded project was split into three parts to be able to quickly get key pieces of infrastructure built first and to stage design and construction such that the schedule could be met. This paper and presentation will focus on Part III, the largest of the parts.
Geometric design is key to every new transportation infrastructure project, and each has its own challenges. The paper will focus on the specific issues tackled on WWARP Part III, how current standards were applied, designs refined, and innovative ideas used to design and construct a safe, high speed arterial to modern standards.

The WWARP project as a whole is comprised of over 40 lane-kilometres of high speed roadway connecting Kenaston Boulevard to P.T.H. 100, including a 105 m fly-over structure, the first of its kind in Winnipeg. Geometric topics to be covered will include the following:

• Intersection sight distance with curvilinear high speed roadways.
• One-way pair arterial around a planned “Town Centre”.
• Use of Smart Channels versus conventional right turn channelization.
• Challenges of an overpass structure with a vertical and horizontal curve re sight distance.
• Design refinement to move obstructions out of the clear zone.
• The value of Value Engineering and Safety Audits in geometric design reviews.
• Construction staging and temporary pavement – lessons in superelevation.
• Ramp geometry re driver expectation and standardization.

The paper and presentation will provide real world examples of challenges faced when translating standards and guidelines on paper, onto pavement in the field. The safety of road users is of utmost importance and good geometric design is key to building a facility that protects users, yet at the same time allows for efficient movement.