Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson says work is now underway as her government begins its next steps of twinning the Trans Canada Highway from Falcon Lake to the Ontario border.
"It is important for Manitobans to have safe and reliable highways to get around this great province of ours and also to get to neighbouring provinces," says Stefanson. "That is why we have prioritized this work as it not only serves as a key trade route but is one of the busiest stretches of highways especially during the summer months for cottagers and travellers."
The Manitoba government has committed to four lanes of traffic on the Trans-Canada Highway between Falcon Lake and the Manitoba-Ontario border and has prioritized twinning 700 metres of the highway nearest the border to align with Ontario's new four-lane highway.
"Twinning the Trans-Canada Highway from Falcon Lake to the Manitoba-Ontario border will significantly improve safety for Manitobans and our government is committed to getting the job done," says Stefanson.
Work is currently underway, including tree clearing and other activities that began last month with an anticipated completion by fall 2024.
The Manitoba government has also commissioned a conceptual design study for full 16-kilometre twinning project and following a competitive request for proposal process has selected Tetra Tech Canada Inc. to complete the study.
The conceptual design study will include:
- route options for the four lanes on the existing alignment or on a new alignment;
- designs for new or modified interchanges at Provincial Road (PR) 301 and Provincial Trunk Highway (PTH) 44;
- options to eliminate three remaining intersections;
- access requirements at Hunt and Lyons lakes;
- options for replacing the existing flyover at PR 301; and
- assess additional interchanges or grade separations that may be required at additional locations.
The conceptual design study will take approximately two years to complete, with functional and detailed design studies commissioned as the project progresses.
Along with the twinning, the Manitoba government is also planning to invest over $10 million for improvements on the existing Trans-Canada Highway in the interim including:
- structure rehabilitation on the Trans-Canada Highway over the Falcon Lake access road;
- structure rehabilitation over Falcon Lake Road in Whiteshell Provincial Park; and
- structure rehabilitation over PTH 44 into the community of West Hawk Lake.