Southern Manitoba highways denounced as atrocious, dangerous after 1st snowfall

The first snowfall of the season brought a heaping load of criticism for the conditions on Manitoba's southern highways, particularly Highway 75, the main commercial artery between Winnipeg and the United States.

"It wasn't even a major snow event that we had, and the highway was absolutely in atrocious shape. Plows weren't out soon enough, and they weren't salting or sanding, so it was just a real, real problem," said Dave Carlson, reeve of the municipality of Emerson-Franklin, which borders the international boundary.

Sections of Highway 75 have been closed twice this week — Oct. 28 and Oct. 30 — because the roads were ice covered.

"It's the northern tip of the mid-continent trade corridor and it's closed due to what was a very minor snow event," Carlson said.

"We get weather heck a lot worse than that, and if we're going to be closing major highways like that, it's not a good look for the province."

Secondary roads, like highways 200, 201 and 218, are just as bad, if not worse, he said.

"All these different highways that Manitoba Highways is responsible for were kind of left unattended," Carlson said.

"I know that highway [75] is better now … but a lot of the secondary roads are still in pretty awful shape."

Rochelle Rawdon, owner of Emerson Taxi, said she has driven through "awful stuff" over the years, but the highways in the area in the past week were "truly a nightmare."

"This is unbelievable. This [type of] weather is not new — [it] might feel a day or two earlier than last year, but definitely not new."

A week after the first snowfall, "most highways have improved but some are still sheets of ice, not graded or sanded," she said.

"Entrances and exits into towns and off and on highways are still a mess. Drifts and ice ruts haven't been touched in some cases once."

Rawdon's company often takes people across the border into the U.S. The difference in road conditions between the Canadian and American sides last Friday afternoon was astonishing, she said.

"The Canadian side had not been touched by one plow or sander. The minute I crossed the border [into the U.S.] it was still slippery in spots but no ice ruts, snow drifts or neglected roads for my entire trip," said Rawdon.

"How is that possible? The weather doesn't change 100 feet over the border."

Carlson said the situation is the result of budget and staff shortfalls in the department over the past seven or eight years. He hopes the new provincial government gives more attention and resources to highways.

"I can't fault the folks on the ground out there. They're working with what they have and they don't have enough."

Not only are the icy conditions dangerous — for the public and emergency crews — the closures cost a lot of money by halting commercial traffic, Carlson said.

The Association of Manitoba Municipalities annual fall convention takes place at the end of the month in Brandon "and we plan on on trying to get a meeting with the [highways] minister to discuss some of these issues," he said.

"There's a lot of stakeholders at the table that need to have highways cleared and and safe. I just hope the government does take this very seriously and that we can get the budget and resources required to make sure that our highways are functioning properly."

The province, when asked to comment on Carlson's concerns, provided a generic email response.

It listed the number of vehicles in its fleet (approximately 340 truck plows, de-icing equipment and motor graders) and the amount of staff (approximately 400 working in 46 maintenance yards across the province).

The Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure email said the department also hires private contractors to help. It currently has 28 agreements "to assist with snow-clearing operations during and after snow events."

The department's "ultimate goal is to provide the most effective snow clearing and ice control. Despite the best efforts to meet service levels, road conditions can change suddenly in winter," the email said, advising drivers to check the government website for road conditions.