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Manitoba Government Ramps up Highway, Bridge Upgrades with Largest Single-year Investment

The Manitoba government will make the largest-ever single-year investment to build and upgrade well over 1,000 kilometres of provincial highways across Manitoba, with the addition of 50 new projects to the 2014 construction season, Premier Greg Selinger announced today, adding the additional projects represent more than $100 million worth of work in all regions of the province and build on the interim 2014 tendering schedule released last November.

“We recognize, in the decades since the original construction of Manitoba’s roads and bridges, investment levels have not kept up with the needs of our aging road network as the population and economy grows,” said Premier Selinger.  “When we invest in restoring and expanding this infrastructure, we ensure its safety, long-term sustainability and Manitoba’s economic growth.”

The premier noted that tenders for this year will exceed the record levels of infrastructure investments made in Manitoba during the short-term economic stimulus programs with the federal government over the past few years and the increased levels of investment are long term.

“The Manitoba government is responding to our request to provide the tender schedule early, allowing us to make the most of Manitoba’s short construction season.  They have also committed to providing and regularly updating multi-year infrastructure plans.  This will allow us to be agile and to expand our capacity to get the job done,” said Chris Lorenc, president, Manitoba Heavy Construction Association.  “These additional tendered projects point toward a significant increase to highway investments in the coming budget.”

The total tendered work for 2014-15 is expected to create the equivalent of one year of work for more than 5,700 people.

“These historic investments mean more than just better roads, they mean thousands of new jobs as well,” said Jobs and the Economy Minister Theresa Oswald.  “We’re making sure Manitobans have access to the skills training they need so that they can get good jobs and help us keep building our province for the future.”  

“Investing in our highways means investing in the trade conduits that connect us to all of North America," said Terry Shaw, general manager, Manitoba Trucking Association.  “These smaller strategic projects are a staple in a successful long-term infrastructure program and just as important as the other significant trade routes this government has committed to upgrading.  Both are essential for us to do our job of connecting Manitoba wholesalers, manufacturers, contractors and farmers to markets across the continent.”

The additional projects announced today include work as far south as the U.S. border and as far north as Jenpeg.  

“Since 2007, we have invested a record $3.3 billion to renew our road network in Manitoba but, in order to maintain the existing network and build new projects that contribute to economic growth, we are ramping our investment up higher,” said Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Steve Ashton.  “These essential investments would not be possible without devoting all of the new revenue from the one-cent-on-the-dollar sales tax increase to building Manitoba’s core infrastructure including provincial highways and bridges.”

Projects include paving, culvert replacements, grading, bridge work and spot road improvements.  Some of the new work includes major project additions in the following regions:

Eastern Manitoba

• six km of paving on PR 427 from PR 334 to PTH 100 near Winnipeg,
• two km of concrete rehabilitation on PTH 9 north of PTH 9A near Selkirk,
• 28 km of surface rehabilitation on PR 200 from PR 305 to the floodway near Winnipeg, and
• nine km of paving on PTH 52 east and west of PTH 12 in Steinbach.

South Central

• 15 km of paving of the westbound lanes of PTH 1 from PTH 1A to PTH 13 east of Portage la Prairie,
• seven km of paving of the eastbound lanes of PTH 1 east and west of PTH west of Portage la Prairie, and
• four km of paving on PTH 23 from PR 244 to the access to St. Leon.

Western Manitoba

• 22 km of paving and grade widening on PTH 1 from west of PR 254 to King Street near Virden,
• 15 km of paving and grade widening on PTH 16 from PR 264 to PTH 42 near Foxwarren,
• nine km of paving and grade widening on PTH 83 from north of PTH 16 to PR 264 near Russell,
• nine km of paving on PTH 1A from west of PTH 1 to 50th Street in Brandon,
• two km of paving and grading on PR 340 from PTH 2 to First Street in Wawanesa, and 
• bridge work on PTH 2 at the Cypress River tributary.