Manitoba ponders 110 km/h speeds on a dozen highways

WINNIPEG — Manitoba may follow the path of two of its western neighbours and allow vehicles to travel at 110 km/h on four-lane, divided highways.

According to Canadian Press, the province has hired consulting engineers to look into the safety implications of the plan, which officials have been considering ever since Alberta and Saskatchewan raised their speed limits on such highways.

The engineers will examine 12 highways, including the Trans-Canada Highway and the perimeter road around Winnipeg, CP reports.

Manitoba is considering raising speed limits at a time
the MTA wants trucks capped at 105 km/h

The study will also compare several trunk highways, including Highway 75, which runs between Winnipeg and the U.S. border, as well as highways 7, 8 and 59, which run north of the capital to Lake Winnipeg.

Transportation Minister Scott Smith made the announcement this week. He says some older sections of certain roadways may not be able to handle higher speeds, however.

The Manitoba Trucking Association, which will be consulted before a final decision is made, strongly opposes the idea. “Higher speeds lead to … a higher rate of accidents,” MTA general manager Bob Dolyniuk told CP.

The association, along with the other provincial carrier groups across Canada, have joined together in urging slower speeds for trucks. Led by the an Ontario Trucking Association lobby effort, the associations want to see trucks regulated at least to 105 km/h by limiting speeds via a computer chip in the truck engine’s ECM.

However other stakeholders, like the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, supports faster commercial vehicles on the Trans-Canada.

Smith said he is hoping to make a decision by next fall, when the twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway in western Manitoba is expected to be complete, reports CP.

— with files from Canadian Press