The intersection of Highway 52 and Highway 59

Both the R.M. of Hanover and the Town of Niverville have agreed to join St. Pierre in lobbying the provincial government to complete a functional study regarding the twinning of Highway 59.

Back in December 2018 St. Pierre contacted municipalities along the 59 corridor to seek support for a study that would address the feasibility of twinning of Highway 59 from Ile Des Chenes to Highway 52.

Hanover Reeve Stan Toews says this has been an ongoing discussion between local communities.

"Originally, five or six years ago we met once or twice in regards to that. We had heard nothing so now they asked that we do a resolution again which at this time we have. The 59 is very busy so we need to upgrade that further south then the 210 corner. There is a lot of commerce going on in the Southeast and a lot of commuters so the roads are just very busy."

The R.M. of Hanover’s resolution points out that the province’s 2017 Traffic Study concluded that Highway 59 continues to see the largest increases in year over year traffic in the province.

Niverville Mayor Myron Dyck says the past provincial government had committed to doing functional study on the twinning of Highway 59 but that has recently fallen by the wayside. He notes it is a very important corridor.

"This is necessary from a safety standpoint but also from an economic development standpoint in bringing people and goods to market which is a benefit to the province and that proper infrastructure is required in order to meet the ever growing demands of the economics that are growing in this area."

Dyck notes twinning Highway 59 from the Ile Des Chenes to highway 52 would benefit a large portion of southeastern Manitoba and without a study the project can never go forward