The province has official announced that it has transferred ownership of the Old Highway 59 South to the RM of Ritchot. All portions of the former highway in the municipality north of Highway 210 are part of the transfer.
This includes the stretch of highway running through Île-des-Chênes, as well as Bernat Road in Grande Pointe. Another major route through Grande Point, Hallama Road, is part of the transfer. In total, more than 14 kilometres of roadway has been moved over to municipal control.
Public officials gathered at the corner of Old Highway 59 and Dumaine for the announcement. Present were MLA Ron Schuler, Ritchot Mayor Chris Ewen, councillors Shane Pelletier and Janine Boulanger, CAO Mitch Duval, and Chamber President Derek Roth.
“Mister Mayor, you have lobbied me a lot about what we call Old Highway 59,” said Schuler, gesturing to Mayor Ewen. “Well, today I am pleased to announce, on behalf of the government of Manitoba, that we are going to transfer the ownership and responsibility of Old Highway 59 to the RM of Ritchot—and I know the mayor and council will have a lot of great plans [for it].”
Schuler added that Ewen and the rest of council have been absolutely dogged in their lobbying efforts to make this happen over the years.
“I do lobby hard,” acknowledged Mayor Ewen. “I don’t ever stop until I get something that council and the municipality needs and wants… At the end of the day, Old 59 has been a want and need of ours for almost a decade now, and it really comes down to three factors: safety, the economic value, and the lifestyle value.”
With this change in ownership, the RM’s council will now be able to make decisions about the roadway that they wouldn’t have been able to make before. Various improvements will begin to unfold along the road in the coming weeks and months.
One priority will involve installing a crosswalk from the east side of town to the Co-op gas station and commercial strip mall on Meadowlark. This crosswalk will allow students from the nearby elementary school to get across the highway on their school breaks.
“We’re going to see people getting to walk around town, getting to cross over and meet their neighbours and friends, and get to know a little bit more about their community by just venturing out to the businesses and feeling safe doing so,” said Ewen about the prospective crosswalk.
A sidewalk along the road is also planned. Notably, there are no current plans to either investigate or petition for traffic lights to better control the intersection of Old 59 and Dumaine, which often experiences heavy traffic as motorists cross through to access Highway 59.
The route was taken out of service in 2005 upon completion of the new, twinned highway to accommodate increased traffic volumes in the area. At that time, the province and RM signed a memorandum of understanding that stated the RM would eventually take over responsibility of the road, including maintenance.