As part of the $500-million Manitoba Restart Program, the province is planning to construct a new interchange to improve safety and the flow of traffic at the intersection of Provincial Trunk Highway (PTH) 100 and St. Mary’s Road.
“As part of the Trans-Canada Highway, the South Perimeter Highway is one of Manitoba’s most important trade corridors and plays a strategic role as it also connects with PTH 75, our major route to the United States,” said Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler. “A new interchange will improve reliability and efficiency of Canada’s international and inter-provincial trade flows and support the growth of our economy.”
PTH 100 (South Perimeter Highway) and St. Mary’s Road is an at-grade intersection with traffic signals. The minister noted the intersection currently leads to high levels of traffic congestion during peak hours and has a high rate of vehicle collisions.
“The safety of the South Perimeter Highway has been a priority of our government, and these improvements will build on the measures we’ve taken over the past few years to create a safer and more efficient roadway for the approximately 30,000 vehicles that use it daily,” said Schuler. “With residential, commercial and industrial growth in south Winnipeg and communities south of the city, it is time to build the South Perimeter Highway to a freeway standard.”
In 2018, the province developed a South Perimeter Highway Safety Plan, which included closing some uncontrolled access points and median openings. It also launched a long-term South Perimeter Highway design study to reconstruct PTH 100 to a freeway standard with no at-grade crossings from the Trans-Canada Highway West interchange at Portage Avenue to the Trans-Canada Highway East interchange at Fermor Avenue. Intersecting roadways and railways would be separated through interchanges and overpasses. The province held public consultation and expects to complete its study this summer, the minister noted.
Schuler added the design study recommends an interchange at PTH 100 and St. Mary’s Road, and construction is expected to begin in 2021.
Funding for the St. Mary’s Road interchange is part of the $500-million Manitoba Restart Program, an economic stimulus package to help restart Manitoba’s economy and ramp up construction in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The province has included $65 million for major highway projects, including the PTH 100 and St. Mary’s Road interchange. Further projects funded under the Manitoba Restart Program will be announced in the coming weeks.
