Just a few weeks into winter and already drivers in southeast Manitoba have been tested with almost every treacherous road condition they’re likely to experience this season. High winds, heavy snowfalls, freezing rain, and rising and falling temperatures are turning every travel day into an adventure.
Despite their best efforts, highway maintenance crews may struggle to keep up when conditions change rapidly.
According to Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure (MTI), the province is responsible for clearing and maintaining 19,000 kilometres of highway. To do this, they own a fleet of approximately 340 truck ploughs, motor graders, and loaders.
Around 400 staff are employed within 46 different maintenance yards and each one is designated its own series of highways to maintain.
Highways and roads across Manitoba are divided into three categories: major routes, regional highway networks, and gravel, access, or service roads. Each category is prioritized for snow-clearing, sanding, and maintenance.
Major routes include Highways 59 and 75. On these highways, ploughing is expected to take place within four hours after the end of a storm.
After that comes the regional highway networks like Highways 200, 305, and 210. Here, the province attempts to clear lanes in such a way that the surface is predominantly visible within eight hours after ploughing has begun.
Interestingly, according to the capital region map, Highway 311 between 59 and 200 is considered a major route while Highway 311 east of 59 is reduced in importance to the regional highway network.
Lastly, gravel and service roads will only be ploughed after all other routes have been done, which the province says should happen within 48 hours after the end of a storm.
“Winter driving in Manitoba can be challenging,” an MTI spokesperson told The Citizen. “Despite best efforts to meet service levels, road conditions can change suddenly in winter.”
For this reason, MTI has created the Manitoba 511 website which provides up-to-date information on road conditions to help drivers make informed decisions on whether to travel and which routes to take.
New this year on the Manitoba 511 site is a tool called Track My Plow.
“Motorists can track the location of snowploughs in real time,” the spokesperson says. “When combined with descriptions of road conditions and closures on Manitoba 511, drivers can make more informed decisions before winter travelling.”
This resource is also available for download to one’s smartphone through the Apple Store and Google Play.
But according to Manitoba 511, there are times when the public needs to exercise greater patience when it comes to seeing their travel routes cleared.
“Winds can significantly delay our slow-clearing operations due to drifting or blowing snow and reduced visibility for crews,” the website states. “If visibility is poor and compromising the safety of maintenance personnel and/or the travelling public, we will not be on the roads.”
When it comes to highway closures, this decision falls to law enforcement.
“The police service of jurisdiction is responsible for highway closures,” says Sargent Paul Manaigre, media relations officer for the Manitoba RCMP. “That would be the RCMP for all provincial highways, with the exception of the South Perimeter highway, which is now policed by Winnipeg Police Services.”
Highway closures are considered on a case-by-case basis, he says, and are based on visibility and ice and snow accumulations.
But it’s not just road conditions can cause frustrating or even anxiety-riddled commutes in wintertime. Sharing the road with others means putting up with those who drive very slow or those who don’t slow their speed enough in inclement conditions.
According to Manaigre, it’s important that each driver recognize their ability and drive accordingly.
A good measure for the right speed to be driving would take into account more variables than just how fast you can go to maintain control along a straightaway. It should also consider braking, stopping, or turning suddenly if required.
“For some, this means driving at a much slower speed than others,” Manaigre says. “Those drivers should activate their four-way hazard lights and, if safe to do so, pull over to let [others] pass them if traffic has accumulated behind them. However, conditions do not always allow for a motorist to pull over safely.”
The Highway Traffic Act requires that drivers activate their hazard lights when going 40 kilometres per hour or slower.
But driving fast can pose an equal hazard, even if you’re not exceeding the posted speed limit. In some cases, these drivers can be stopped and ticketed.
According to Manitoba traffic law, “A person is guilty of an offence if the person drives a vehicle on any portion of a highway at a speed or in a manner that is not reasonable and prudent having regard to all circumstances; or constitutes or may constitute a danger to any person on or near the highway.”
Manitoba 511 reminds drivers that, compared to summer conditions, stopping a car in winter can take twice the distance on slushy surfaces, three times the distance on soft or loose snow, four times the distance on packed snow, and up to 12 times the distance on ice-covered surfaces.
