Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation advises that, due to the exceptional early spring weather and dry conditions, spring road restrictions for heavy trucks, introduced in March to protect the province’s road system, will end on May 12, two weeks sooner than planned in southern parts of the province and May 17 in the north.
Restrictions have to be placed on truck weight limits on some roads, which not as strong during the spring and could be damaged by heavy loads.
Three major highways have been upgraded to allow increased weight limits. Effective immediately, the following highways can accommodate the heaviest truck loads (RTAC), year-round:
• over 120 kilometres of PTH 68, from PTH 6 to PTH 5;
• more than 110 kms of PTH 83, from Russell to south of Swan River; and
• PTH 8, from PR 229 to PR 231 near Gimli.
The department said PTH 8 from PR 231 to PTH 68 north of Gimli will also be upgraded to RTAC levels as soon as a construction project there is completed. The upgrades are expected to be done later this summer.
Last year, the province set a new record for highway and bridge renewal with the annual budget of $545 million, up by over 50 per cent since 2006. There were over 50 bridge reconstruction or renewal projects launched in Manitoba in 2009.
Updated information on road conditions is available at any time at www.manitoba.ca.
