Highway 12, north of the Trans Canada Highway will be reconstructed next year.

Manitoba's Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk made that announcement Monday morning.

Piwniuk says his government is committing $26.9 million to the project. It will see Highway 12 reconstructed between the Trans Canada Highway and Highway 15, a section of roadway which Piwniuk says has experienced rapid deterioration and rutting in recent years due to increased traffic volumes. 

The project includes pulverizing the existing surface, applying bituminous pavement and widening the shoulders to meet current standards. The project will also improve the intersection at Provincial Road 501, rehabilitate a railway crossing and improve drainage in the area as required.

Piwniuk says the design work is already done and he expects the deadline for tenders will be the end of November. It is anticipated that the work will happen in 2023.

"The upgrades to provincial trunk highway 12 are proposed to be part of the trade and commerce grid, an initiative to strategically expand highways to support heavy commercial loading," explains Piwniuk.

Meanwhile. Piwniuk said Monday that his government continues to work at a long term solution for improvements to the intersection of Highway 12 at Provincial Road 210 near Ste. Anne. Piwniuk says the matter is currently in the design stage, which will see traffic re-directed further north to an interchange.