St. Norbert to be bypassed by new, $400M Manitoba highway

A new highway link that bypasses St. Norbertis coming to south Winnipeg.

ItextendsKenastonBoulevard past the Perimeter Highway, linking up to Highway 75 south of the La Salle River.

Infrastructure and Transportation Minister SteveAshtonannounced the $400-million project on Thursday morning, saying construction will beunderway in five years and completedwithin 10.

It will include six kilometres ofroad and twocloverleafs one at Kenaston and the Perimeter, and the other at
Highway 75 and a bridge over theLa Salle River.

The speed limit on the highway has yet to be determined but it is much faster than the current50 km/h along Highway 75 through St. Norbert, according to Ashton.

The announcement of the bypass comes less than a month after the province announced plans tospendup to $800 million to upgrade intersections in the same area,alongthe south Perimeter Highway.

• Winnipeg's south Perimeter Highway to get 4 new interchanges

Those interchanges and the bypass work will beco-ordinated so the construction and completion "smoothly tie together," said Ashton.

The highway improvements are being lauded by thetrucking industry.

"These links and others, such as the planned Headingley bypass and the other improvements to streamline the Perimeter Highway, help improve road safety and they help the environment by permitting vehicles to operate at peak efficiency, rather than idling at lights,"said Terry Shaw, executive director of theManitoba Trucking Association.