The province has responded back to local municipalities about their request to have Highway 59 twinned up to Highway 52.

In a letter, the province says they are in the process of determining priorities for the latest provincial budget and need to assess which pressing issues "provide the most value for money."

Village of St. Pierre Mayor Raymond Maynard feels this is a crucial project, especially during the winter months and as we head into the season of spring flooding.

"I think they should really consider Highway 59," Maynard adds, "for the simple reasons of in winter when there's a storm, 75 closes down, Highway 59 doesn't close down so they need a spot for truckers and stuff to route to be able to continue doing their trips to wherever they're going."

He notes, in the event of spring flooding along the Red River, Highway 75 is shut down at times forcing traffic to take detours. He says Highway 59 should be the route of choice noting the current detour takes motorists west near Winkler then back up towards Winnipeg. 

Maynard indicates he has heard of plans to pave sections of Provincial Road 246 that runs from Highway 23 which he adds are funds that could well be spent elsewhere. 

"They're building a bridge on highway 23 and they're making it RTAC, which means any load can go on there, so instead of doing the rebuilding of a gravel road to make it accessible for all vehicles and trucks in case of flooding to detour around the 75 area that would be flooded, it would be much easier for them to go down Highway 23 to Highway 59."

Maynard says twinning the highway would make that a more likely possibility and make it a more attractive route for the trucking industry. He adds taking Highway 59 would save trucking companies a significant amount of time and fuel as well.

He says the next step is setting up a meeting with the Minister of Infrastructure to discuss the importance of Highway 59 and show him all the local support that is behind this project. 

Emerson MLA Cliff Graydon agrees, saying this is long overdue.

"59 Highway is bumper to bumper at rush hour both morning and night for at least two and a half hours. So it needs to be done, there's no question and it needs to be done for safety and I'm definitely in favour of seeing that done."

Read More: Niverville And Hanover Lobby For Twinning of HWY 59

Keeping The Dream Of Twinning Highway 59 Alive