RM of Portage thrilled over upgrade announcement to PR 227

Yesterday's huge announcement for upgrading Provincial Road 227 came as fantastic news for the RM of Portage la Prairie, residents living along the highway, and those wanting to travel more quickly between Winnipeg and Highway 16. It means major news for making that stretch of roadway into the artery for which it was originally created for many, many years, but never quite came to fruition.

PR 227

Reeve Kam Blight was at the meeting for the announcement just north of Marquette, and addressed those present. He shares how appreciative the RM of Portage is for this great news.

"There's been a lot of meetings held over this over the past few decades. This is just a tremendous announcement for the RM of Woodlands and the RM of Portage la Prairie," says Blight. "Construction is going to start in 2024 on the section West of 430, which is in the RM of Portage la Prairie. We're very excited about this and we are very grateful for the Province of Manitoba making a significant investment into PR 227."

Blight explains 227 is a route that takes 45 minutes less time to get to Hwy 16 from Winnipeg. 

"It's really going to cut down on the traffic on the Trans Canada Highway and it's also going to allow people to get to their destination a little bit quicker," continues Blight. "It's going to be a nice, safe route for people to travel on 227. That's a great boost for the economy and also, once again, it just makes for a lot safer travel for the individuals using this road."

Councillor for Ward 1 and deputy reeve Garth Asham was personally involved in many meetings about this effort, and is also a resident who lives along this part of the area.

Garth Asham

"I think it's a key initiative," says Asham. "We've been lobbying to get this road done for years, and I applaud the provincial government. I also applaud the provincial government for their ideas of taking traffic off of #1 and #16, I think that's going to help a lot there with the issues that we all know have happened at #16 and #1 in regards to safety. I always applaud governments that invest in infrastructure and this, personally, is a really good positive step forward."

Asham notes he was involved with working in a group that met with Minister Ron Schuler at the time when they received some positive reactions. 

"It never hurts to lobby and bring up the solid case of it having been, in our terms, a shovel-ready project. It's a good road," notes Asham. "I mean, it's a road but it needs to be improved. This is going to be another artery into the city. It serves a purpose for all the northern areas, northwest area such as Gladstone, Neepawa, Sandy Bay, Ebb and Flow, Kinosota -- all those areas are going to have a shorter trek into the city."

He adds work is slated to begin next year.

"It'll finish it off in two years, is the timeline I heard," adds Asham. "But I think that's a generous, generous date to put on it."