The Municipality of Rhineland has won an award from the Manitoba Good Roads Association (MGRA) for the most improved rural roads in the province.
"We belong to the MGRA, an organization that encourages good practice in terms of municipal drains and a few other things," explains Reeve Don Wiebe.
"We were a little surprised this year when we were recognized for our efforts to maintain roads. We had purchased special equipment and we were working diligently on the shaping of roads so that the maintenance of it is simpler and they're more predictable and are as effective as can be."
One of the latest additions to the municipality's road maintenance arsenal - a sloper - has proven very helpful.
"What we can do then is quite quickly resurface those roads. One of the key things is to create a crown on these roads and that helps with the maintenance because the runoff is quick, that the water doesn't sit on roads, and it puts them at the correct height. We've been working quite diligently on that, and we will continue to do that. And of course, in the Prairie Grain Roads Project, which is a huge project for about 31 miles of roads that connect with the Manitoba provincial highways, we're still working on that too."
The award is a good complement to staff and to council, added Wiebe, reinforcing their commitment to maintaining good roads.
The MGRA was established in 1909 to promote the development of a good road network throughout Manitoba.
~Written with files from Chris Sumner~