As part of Budget 2019, the province is investing $2 million to develop a provincial park dedicated to former premier Duff Roblin.
“Our government is committed to developing and enhancing our provincial park system so that Manitoba families and visitors alike can enjoy a greater connection and appreciation with nature,” Sustainable Development Minister Rochelle Squires said. “The foresight and commitment of Duff Roblin to plan and build the Red River Floodway has created a lasting legacy. We are proud to develop greenspace at the floodway inlet for Manitobans to enjoy recreational pursuits and an opportunity to learn more about this feat of engineering that has saved the city of Winnipeg from flooding year after year and prevented billions of dollars in damage.”
Preliminary plans have been developed to create viewpoints and interpretive spaces for observing and learning about the floodway, its history, how it works and about Duff Roblin, who served from 1958 to 1967. An engineering consultant has been hired to further develop the plans and to manage the construction of the project, Squires said. The goal is to offer educational opportunities, interpretive displays and viewing vistas of the floodway channel and inlet control structure for when the floodway is in use, but also in non-flood times. These design ideas have been shared with the Roblin family and they will be kept up to date as the project moves forward.
“My family thinks it is wonderful that, with the development of the park, Manitobans will be able to come and view the incredible engineering marvel that is the Red River Floodway in action,” said Jennifer Roblin, Duff Roblin’s daughter. “Duff would be most pleased and honoured.”
Duff Roblin Provincial Park covers 56 hectares surrounding the floodway inlet control structure and a portion of the Red River Floodway. The development of the park replaces the Duff Roblin Park Reserve along the floodway channel just northeast of Winnipeg, which closed in 2006. Proposed amenities for the site could include a raised viewing area, picnic area, interpretive kiosks, walking trails, washrooms, fishing facilities, a toboggan hill and landscape improvements.
The minister said that once the detailed design is prepared, the province plans to start construction later this year, with a targeted completion date sometime in 2020, making it yet another project that celebrates a great Manitoba achievement during the province’s sesquicentennial, MB150. The Red River Floodway is considered one of the world’s 16 engineering marvels.
