Highway 75 to get $61-M concrete upgrade

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This article was published 23/08/2022 (757 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Southbound Highway 75 is getting a major renovation.

The province will invest more than $61 million to reconstruct 27.7 kilometres of Highway 75 between Morris and Ste. Agathe.

The province will tender two contracts for different stretches of the roadway next spring; the expectation is that work will be completed by the end of fall that same year.

Making the announcement at the Ste. Agathe fire hall just metres from the highway, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk said the work will be done using concrete pavement, a more durable and efficient technology than the asphalt roadway used the last time the highway was rebuilt in 1988 and 1991.

“We’re re-doing the highway because of its condition,” Piwniuk said. “The pavement has now deteriorated to the point where full reconstruction is required.”

The news was applauded by the trucking industry and the export sector.

“This is a no-brainer investment,” said Chris Lorenc of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association, who said 20 to 30 per cent of any highway project is labour costs.

With 2,000 to 2,600 trucks on that highway every day, 365 days per year, the maintenance of the safety and efficiency of the highway has direct economic impact on the provincial and national economies.

Manitoba engages in about $31 billion in global merchandise trade and about 80 per cent of that is moved by trucks.

Aaron Dolyniuk, the executive director of the Manitoba Trucking Association figures about 75 per cent of that total trucking movement happens on Highway 75.

“Travel on Highway 75 has been rough,” he said. “The wear and tear is hard on equipment. Maintenance is definitely a consideration.”

Also, the decision to use concrete construction means there will be no weight restrictions and it will be built to the same standards as that of the U.S. Interstate highway 29 which Dolyniuk said means greater efficiencies for the supply chain.

The road work will mean one-lane traffic in both directions and reduced speeds during construction.

“It will be a disruption our industry is willing to take on,” Dolyniuk said.

Other than at peak hours it should not mean huge traffic backups, he said.

Piwniuk said the work will be separated into two tenders so two different companies can get the work done at the same time.

Concrete reconstruction from Highway 23 at Morris to Highway 205 at Aubigny is estimated to cost about $29 million and from Aubigny to Ste. Agathe it’s estimated to cost about $32.8 million.

Ralph Groening, reeve of the Rural Municipality of Morris, said people in the area depend on the highway for the region’s economic well-being.

“This is a long-awaited announcement,” he said. “We all look forward to the completion of the project.”

With between $22 billion and $24 billion of trade moving north-south along Highway 75, Lorenc said this investment will generate a significant return on investment for the province and the country.

“Our view as an industry and as an association is that the number one responsibility for each level of government, first and foremost, is to grow the economy,” he said.

“If you don’t have the income from an economy that generates tax revenues you have no flexibility to pay for health care, education, social services, policing, name your program.”

The investment is part of the province’s three-year plan to invest $1.5 billion in Manitoba’s highway network that has an annual minimum commitment of $500 million.

Dolyniuk said the decision to go with a higher-quality construction design is a happy one for his members.

“One of the most common questions we get from Manitoba truckers is why does Canada have different standards than the U.S.,” he said.

“This is going to be built to the same standards. That’s music to our ears.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca