Manitoba putting $70M to upgrade this provincial highway

$60 million in upgrades coming to Manitoba highway The province plans to have the entire stretch of Provincial Highway 277 repaved.

The provincial government is promising nearly $70 million to upgrade a highway in central Manitoba.

Manitoba's Provincial Road 227 will be getting improvements within the next five years, the province announced on Tuesday. The road stretches from Highway 6 northwest of Winnipeg to Highway 16 northwest of Portage la Prairie.

The province said $60 million will be used to ensure the entire 72-kilometre stretch of road is paved.

The road will be paved in two sections – from Highway 16 to PR 240 beginning in the 2024/25 season, and from PR 430 to Highway 6 beginning in the 2025/26 season.

Another nearly $10 million is going towards three bridge projects along the route.

Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk said the upgrades will allow the road to accommodate heavy commercial loading.

"Building and maintaining a robust grid of reliable highways supports the (efficiency) of interprovincial and international movement of goods, which are integral to Manitoba's economic prosperity," Piwniuk said.

The projects in the RMs of Portage la Prairie and Woodlands are expected to be completed in the next five years.