Steve Ashton

I was pleased as Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation to announce that we will be investing a record amount in our highway system this year .We will be investing $366 million on major highway and bridge projects.

How significant is this amount? To put the investment into perspective $366 million is about four times what was spent annually to build highways in the 1990s.

This years investment is part of the Highway Renewal Plan that began in  2007.  The $1.3 billion invested in the first three years of the plan is on track to meet the government’s $4-billion, 10-year commitment and has provided 10,725 person years of direct employment and 9,126 person years of indirect employment.

We are continuing to focus on Northern highways. This year we are investing on more than 40 km of PTH 6. In total we have been investing more than $60 million on Highway #6. We are  also continuing work on more than 70 km of PR 373 and 374, serving the communities of Norway House and Cross Lake. We are also looking at the needs of other Northern highways such as #280 and #391.

We are moving ahead on the expansion of the all weather road network through the newly established road authority. This will open up all weather road access to many Northern communities that currently only have air and winter road access,

Our Highway Renewal Plan  is good for the economy. Here in Northern Manitoba we also know that our highways are a vital service. That is why this years highways announcement is once again good news for Northern Manitoba.

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