Millions earmarked for Highway 59 upgrades, but no plan on twinning road to Grand Beach

CTV Winnipeg: Highway 59 getting upgrades The province's $160 million in planned upgrades for the road does not include a firm plan to twin the rest of it to Grand Beach.

The province says it will spend $160 million on upgrades to Highway 59 north but that does not include twinning the road to Grand Beach.

RCMP numbers show that since 2012, there have been 231 crashes on the highway between Winnipeg and Grand Beach. Six deaths in crashes have been reported on the stretch since 2009.

Premier Greg Selinger said once the improvements to Highway 59 are made, it will make a future twinning project cheaper.

But Selinger said the province has not been able to broker a deal with Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation to acquire land needed to build the extra lanes from Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation to the beach areas, where the highway is single lane.

Selinger said that's the major holdup from moving forward with that project.

Brokenhead's chief, however, said his community is not standing in the way. The chief told CTV News the Selinger government informed him it doesn't have the funds to twin the road.

Selinger insists, however, the issue of twinning the highway isn't about money.

Wednesday's announcement also included a timeline for an interchange at Highway 59 and the north Perimeter. Construction is expected to be done by 2018 at cost of more than $100 million.

- with a report from Jeff Keele