Municipalities call for more passing lanes on Yellowhead Highway
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/07/2017 (3171 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Eleven municipalities are asking the provincial government to add passing lanes on the Yellowhead Highway west of Minnedosa.
Yellowhead Coun. Merv Starzyk led a one-man effort to convince his municipal brethren to pass council resolutions, advocating that upgrades become part of the province’s five-year highway improvement plan.
He also jumped in his truck for a tour of some of the largest businesses along the way, such as implement dealers and construction companies, to have “key stakeholders” sign the petition.
“It just seemed logical,” Starzyk said of taking on such a campaign. “They already did (passing lanes) from Minnedosa east to the junction of Highway 1 to Portage, so why not the other way?”
The province has recently installed passing lanes on the eastern portion of the highway, Starzyk said.
He hopes work can continue westbound, through to the Saskatchewan border, though they will have to change the province’s mind. Previously, the government dismissed the idea because the traffic count was deemed too low.
Starzyk submitted the 11 council resolutions and petition to the Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation department late this spring. The province has acknowledged receipt, he said, and will study the highway before coming to a decision.
Starzyk is optimistic.
“I think once they look at it, and realize we’re not talking about big dollars, we’ll see if they can’t help us.”
He can only look to the east, where people regularly applaud the “pleasure it is to drive to Winnipeg now on (Highway) 16, because rarely do you get behind somebody and you can’t pass them for miles,” he said.
Although traffic is reduced west of Minnedosa, plenty of motorists still travel on that portion of the Yellowhead Highway, from local residents to beach-goers in the summer and skiers in the winter, he said.
“I myself have been involved with convoys, where we get behind a number of vehicles, and we see the fellow that takes some daring chances at passing two, three cars at one time,” Starzyk said in explaining the benefits of passing lanes.
Installing passing lanes would ease the traffic load, and in turn, encourage more motorists to take the highway, bringing an economic spinoff, he hopes, to communities along the way, including Newdale, Shoal Lake and Foxwarren.
Starzyk, past president of the TransCanada Yellowhead Highway Association, said discussion regarding the adding of passing lanes was broached at the group’s annual general meeting a few years ago. He decided this year to take on the charge himself.
In their formal request to the government, the group did not specify how many passing lanes they wanted. Starzyk said in an interview that one passing lane between each community would be sufficient.
» ifroese@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @ianfroese