Manitoba’s approximately 2,200-kilometre winter road system is now open, allowing large trucks and other vehicles to get needed supplies to remote communities.
Each year, more than 2,000 shipments of goods are trucked to a large number of isolated northern communities. The system also provides road access for area residents.
“The cold temperatures and lack of snow early this winter created good conditions on many of the routes that opened earlier than normal,” said Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Ron Kostyshyn. “A lot of work has been done recently to maximize the short winter road season, including an engineering study that has allowed an increase in load levels on most winter roads. This means supplies can be delivered more efficiently.”
Prior to the study, the maximum gross vehicle weight for a five-axle truck on the winter road system was 37,500 kilograms.
On routes where bridges and the roads can accommodate an increase, the limit is increased to 39,500 kg.
This change allows each truck to haul about eight per cent more cargo, Kostyshyn said.
Kostyshyn said the overall budget to open and maintain the winter roads is about $10 million, shared between the provincial and federal governments.
The work to prepare the winter roads was performed by more than 20 companies. Construction and maintenance work is contracted out, primarily to local communities or First Nation joint-venture companies.
