Twenty-two northern and remote communities are temporarily connected to the province’s all-weather highways now that all of Manitoba winter roads are open, Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler announced Feb. 11.
“Winter roads not only facilitate the hauling of freight to northern and remote communities, but also provide the residents with temporary inter-community travel as well as road access to the rest of the province,” said Schuler in a press release. “Our government will spend $4.5 million providing the 22 northern Manitoba communities access to supplies and inter-community travel.”
The network consists of 2,400 kilometres of winter roads to communities including Garden Hill, Red Sucker Lake, St. Theresa Point, Wasagamack, Oxford House, Gods Lake Narrows, Pikwitonei, Thicket Portage. Brochet, Lac Brochet, Tadoule Lake, Pukatawagan, Ilford, York Landing, Gods River, Matheson Island, Stevenson Island, Poplar River, Little Grand Rapids and Pauingassi.
The government says more than 2,500 shipments are delivered to remote northern communities in a typical winter road season, which runs from mid-January to March.
Some sections of the roads, which are built and maintained through shared funding by the provincial and federal governments, may be closed for repairs on short notice due to changing weather conditions.
Safety tips for motorists using winter roads include not travelling on closed roads, staying just right of the centre of the road, slowing down for ice and stopping for water and letting someone know when you expect to reach your destination. Winter road drivers should pack winter survival equipment and commercial drivers in vehicles weighing more than 7,000 kilograms should not drive faster than 15 kilometres per hour when on ice.
Closures and road conditions are posted at www.manitoba511.ca and can be checked at www.twitter.com/MBGovRoads or by calling 511 from a cell phone or using the Manitoba 511 app.
