3 Westman roads make province’s 10-worst list

Three Westman roads have been named in CAA Manitoba’s 10 worst roads list this year.

Provincial Road 349 north of Souris finished fifth, and two Brandon streets made the list — 26th Street finished sixth and Richmond Avenue came in ninth.

Overall, nine out of the top 10 were outside of Winnipeg, the highest total ever.

“To see (rural roads) show up in the way that they did is interesting, but not necessarily surprising,” said Ewald Friesen, manager of community relations with CAA Manitoba. “Rural folks depend upon our road network in a way that can’t be overstated.”

Friesen pointed out that 18th Street in Brandon finished first on the list last year, and the NDP government then announced funding for the road. Rural voters saw that, he said, and decided they should also vote for their street, so it could also be fixed.

Friesen said PR 349 was voted onto the list for the first time, and most reports were because the road isn’t paved, it isn’t maintained properly and it has a lot of potholes.

Voters said the entire 22-kilometre stretch of road needed to be fixed.

Brandon’s 26th Street also landed on the list for the first time, with voters saying it had a lot of potholes and poor maintenance, especially at its intersections with Victoria, Park and McTavish avenues.

Richmond Avenue made its second appearance in the top 10, after finishing tied for 10th last year. It was voted down for the same reason as 26th Street. Its worst intersections were with First, Ninth and 10th streets.

The city has scheduled construction for both 26th Street and portions of Richmond Avenue that are not under provincial jurisdiction.

Last September, the NDP government announced that upgrades for the provincially controlled section of Richmond Avenue were in the design phase. When contacted, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor didn’t provide an update on Thursday.

The 26th Street repairs are expected to happen this summer, and the city’s portion of Richmond Avenue next summer.

Mark Allard, general manager of development services for the City of Brandon, said construction is “long overdue” for both streets, but that the city is doing what it needs to do.

“There’s certainly been concern about the surface condition of (26th street), that portion of it between Park Avenue and Victoria Avenue is severely deteriorated,” said Allard.

Allard said Richmond “isn’t far behind,” and that “the condition of the surface is quite distressed.”

“I think as far as being on the top 10, it’s unfortunate,” said Allard. “But again, I think every community manages to get on there at one point or another, and we certainly have plans to address some of those streets that are not in great condition today.”

He said he doesn’t think any Brandon streets will be on the list next year.

Friesen said most people vote for roads that have a lot of potholes, even though roads can be voted on for many reasons. Bad signage, poorly timed lights and crumbling curbs are other common complaints.

The No. 1 spot overall went to Highway 34, which stretches in central Manitoba from the North Dakota border to Gladstone.

CAA also tallied the worst five roads per region. Fourth place in Westman was 18th Street, which is currently under construction. Fifth place was Highway 2 in the Souris area.

» alambert@brandonsun.com