USE EXTREME CAUTION: On South Perimeter Highway

This blog is to inform you of facts, and to ask you to use extreme caution when using the South Perimeter Highway. The Perimeter does not have 24 x 7 maintenance, in the winter – or any other season. The one maintenance shift occurs in daylight hours, over a 12 hour period.

WINTER MAINTENANCE (snow & ice removal, sanding & salting):

• From Province of Manitoba: “Maintenance activities are normally conducted during daylight hours when visibility is best. Typically, snow clearing operations in winter begin as early as 4:00 a.m., with the intent of clearing the main routes prior to the morning rush hour, during or following snow/ice events. Staff will continue operations until the roads are in good driving condition or health and safety shift limits are reached.

Only in rare instances will snow clearing continue through the night.”

• FYI: There is one 12 hour shift of maintenance operators. Maintenance does not occur 24 x 7 on the South Perimeter.

TRADE CORRIDOR & EXPANSION

• $73 million in trade passes through Emerson. Trucks use Hwy 75 – then go East or West on the Perimeter Highway. Trucks move 24 x 7 on the Perimeter, day and night. The Perimeter does not have 24 x 7 maintenance.
• Trucks travel 24×7 moving $10’s of millions in goods. The Perimeter is a key link in the CentrePort Canada – a multi modal global transportation hub located in west Winnipeg.

VOLUME & 911 (charts attached)

• Every day, 25-30,000 vehicles use South Perimeter between Hwy 330 and St Anne’s Rd. 25-30,000 vehicles every day.
• Between 40 – 80 emergency 911 calls are made every year regarding crashes on the Perimeter between Hwy 330 and St Anne’s Rd. (a 13 km stretch)

1950’s ENGINEERING DESIGN:

• The Perimeter Hwy was built using 1950’s engineering design. It opened in 1955 & is now morphing into a key link in CentrePort Canada – a multi modal global transportation hub located in west Winnipeg. The Perimeter was never designed to be a link in a global transportation hub.
• Upgrades are being made to sections, but it will take decades and hundreds of millions to re-engineer to handle increased volume and to incorporate 21st Century safety engineering.

For all these reasons and more, please use extreme caution when using the South Perimeter Highway.

Please know I am advocating to the Province of Manitoba to improve winter maintenance on the South Perimeter – by either increasing winter maintenance coverage to 24 x 7, or to have winter maintenance operators on standby. Please consider doing the same.

The crash image is at Perimeter and St. Anne’s at 7:30 pm, Feb 15th.