A new hydro station is being built northwest of Kleefeld to account for huge growth in the Steinbach area.

De Salaberry East station is going up on the south side of Highway 52. Site preparation was done last year.

Riley McDonald is Media Relations Assistant with Manitoba Hydro. He says they are now doing the fencing and pre-work for construction of the building. He expects that to continue for another month.

Manitoba Hydro is still targeting the station to go into service in late 2020. McDonald says over time more and more vehicles will be coming and going from that site and he urges motorists in that area to drive with caution.

"Always drive safe around workers, particularly on highways," he stresses. "But anywhere you see any roadside workers, drive carefully."

According to McDonald, the purpose of De Salaberry East is to connect from another station in St. Vital. The site will see a pair of 230-kilovolt transmission lines enter the station to convert to six 66-kilovolt distribution lines.

McDonald says De Salaberry East will alleviate stress on Hanover, Richer South and La Verendrye stations.

"We're building it to improve reliability, but also to plan for the future of growth there," he says.

Manitoba Hydro reports energy growth in southeastern Manitoba has expanded at over twice the Manitoba average for the past decade.

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