No. H 208/07
For release - October 25, 2007

TWINNING OF TRANS-CANADA HIGHWAY IN WESTERN MANITOBA READY TO BE OPENED

OTTAWA — Safety for all motorists and efficiency for commercial truckers will be improved with the opening of the twinned portions of the Trans-Canada Highway to the Saskatchewan border, Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Ron Lemieux said today.

The final 34 kilometres of roadway will be opened to traffic tomorrow.

The four-lane highway now stretches across Manitoba from near the Manitoba-Ontario border in the east for a distance of approximately 500 kilometres. In total, the twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway in western Manitoba cost $32.8 million. The province provided $26.5 million while the federal government provided $11.7 million under the Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program.

"The twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway in the west demonstrates our increased commitment to our highways and infrastructure and will improve safety and traffic flows," said Minister Lemieux. "We are also pleased as this project is a key component of our multi-year, $4-billion highway and bridge renewal plan."

"The twinning of this important section of the Trans-Canada Highway reflects the federal government's commitment to improving transportation infrastructure across the country," said the Honourable Vic Toews, President of the Treasury Board, on behalf of the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. "These new lanes will help improve safety and contribute to a stronger local and national economy."

The federal funding for this project came from the highway component of the Canada/Manitoba Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program. Under this component, the federal government worked with the provinces and territories to identify those parts of the National Highway System that — because of growing traffic and increasing trade — were most in need of improvement.

For the first time ever, Manitoba's investment in highways and bridges in 2007 increased to $400 million annually. Over the next four years, this amount will increase to an average of $430 million per year which will include an additional $125-million investment for bridge replacement, maintenance, preservation and inspections.

Manitoba's $4-billion, multi-year highway and bridge program will see a total investment of over $365 million for construction and rehabilitation of over 60 bridges and $83 million for rebuilding PTH 75 to the United States. Other significant projects include $68 million to improve PTH 6, the major route to the north.

Complete details of Manitoba's multi-year highway and bridge renewal plan are available at www.gov.mb.ca/highways.

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