Manitoba | Highways

[drew]

My biggest pet peeves on that route are the Portage la Prairie 100 zone (why?), Medicine Hat, and the head scratcher (or ticket revenue generating) 80 zone around Moosimin.

Actually, throw MBs weird lets reduce the speed from 110 to 100 to 80 at intersections... again why?

[bomberjet]

I also don't get the need to go down to 100. just go 110 to 80. Medicine Hat is a bit weird with the interchanges. But then immediately to 80 and traffic lights.

[Winnipeg Grump]

Anyone have any insight into why the limit on 75 isn't 110 all the way from the border to Winnipeg? I can't detect any difference in road design that justifies the shift in speed limits.
Southbound from Winnipeg the road is newer and better than the northbound stretch from Emerson to St. Jean, except it's still at 100 while the older stretch going north is at 110.

The new stretch south of Morris, with asphalt laid over the old base is about half done and set at 110 but there's still a LOT of work to do before winter.

I did see the 'rubbelizer' on Thursday - was far smaller than I had envisioned.

[Carboy15]

Originally Posted by Winnipeg Grump

Anyone have any insight into why the limit on 75 isn't 110 all the way from the border to Winnipeg? I can't detect any difference in road design that justifies the shift in speed limits.
Southbound from Winnipeg the road is newer and better than the northbound stretch from Emerson to St. Jean, except it's still at 100 while the older stretch going north is at 110.

The new stretch south of Morris, with asphalt laid over the old base is about half done and set at 110 but there's still a LOT of work to do before winter.

I did see the 'rubbelizer' on Thursday - was far smaller than I had envisioned.

Yeah. The Rubblizer is called Antigo, and it looks like a tractor, but with Pistons at the back of it.

Technically the reason I would think Hwy 75 is only 110 from US to St Jean is because entering Morris MB, you slow down to 50km/h. Therefore if it were a consistent divided expressway bypassing Morris and St Norbert, it would probably be 110km/h worthy.

[Winnipeg Grump]

Man, I hope that's not the province's reasoning 'cause that's weak sauce.

[Mr Tall Forehead]

Yet on TCH west, the speed limit is 110 kmh most of the way but you have to slow down to 80 kmh in Elie, at the Carberry corner, through Brandon and Virden, etc.

Morris (while being quite stupid that traffic has to drop to 50 kmh) shouldn't prevent the rest of PTH 75 from being 110 kmh if it is in good condition.

[Biff]

I agree. You already have to go from 100 to a 50. What difference does 10 more km's make?

[bomberjet]

It's surely not related to being 50 in morris. It must have to do with geometry or some other issue. The highway is basically straight though so I don't know.

[WildCake]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

It's surely not related to being 50 in morris. It must have to do with geometry or some other issue. The highway is basically straight though so I don't know.

Didn't the increase to 110 km/h on the TCH come after some upgrades to the sloping of the ditches making the less steep or widening the paved shoulders? To make it safer if someone drove off the road I believe.

IIRC this was in the Doer/Selinger NDP years and they talked about doing this to the TCH east of Winnipeg to Falcon but that got put aside when they got voted out. This was also 15-20 years ago so facts might be a little fuzzy to the point of inaccuracy.

[BlackDog204]

I just came back from the cottage. Construction on Highway 8, from 67 through to at least Winnipeg Beach. They are expanding and paving the shoulders, it looks like.

[BlackDog204]

Originally Posted by WildCake

Didn't the increase to 110 km/h on the TCH come after some upgrades to the sloping of the ditches making the less steep or widening the paved shoulders? To make it safer if someone drove off the road I believe..

I'm willing to bet money that it probably had something to do with the TCH in Saskatchewan had paved shoulders, 110 km/h, and a nicer stretch of highway. It made the province look bad, when one crossed the border eastbound, only to have to drop the speed to 100, and the pavement turn to gravel.

[drew]

Originally Posted by WildCake

Didn't the increase to 110 km/h on the TCH come after some upgrades to the sloping of the ditches making the less steep or widening the paved shoulders? To make it safer if someone drove off the road I believe.

IIRC this was in the Doer/Selinger NDP years and they talked about doing this to the TCH east of Winnipeg to Falcon but that got put aside when they got voted out. This was also 15-20 years ago so facts might be a little fuzzy to the point of inaccuracy.

I recall something similar, and was under the impression that the shoulder upgrades on the twinned TCH from Winnipeg to Falcon was in preparation for 110kmph speed limits.

[bomberjet]

I would assume there are upgrades like that. But I'm not a road safety guy so I don't know from that perspective what's what. Going from 100 to 110 would not be that much different though for recovery zone, IMO.

Say for TCH east of Winnipeg, from PTH 1 to PTH 12. The road is straight, road surface is good. I don't see any reason why it couldn't be 110. Maybe because it get's really busy and there are a lot of crossings?

[Danny D Oh]

The entirety of the interstates (29 and 94) in ND save a few urban sections (Fargo where the roads are both widest actually drops right down 55) is at 80 mph which means most people drive at about 140 km/h.

But there's basically zero at-grade crossings.

Will be interesting to see some data from that change. Think it started in 2024.

[Danny D Oh]

Originally Posted by BorealLynx

I hear this contention often when a main artery is rerouted around a town. It reminds me of the same conversation about a possible bypass for Hwy 75 around Morris, way back when 75 was being twinned. The smart move would have been to go around the town and possibly put interchanges on either end (and maybe at 23), but they listened to the doomsayers (and I'm sure cost was also a factor) and kept it running right through the town, at 50 kph.

As a frequent highway traveler, I suspect that this is an argument based on perception rather than on fact. Most people who travel Hwy 75 are going from Winnipeg and other points in MB to the USA. Morris is only an hour from Winnipeg, so why would anyone heading to the USA need to stop there? Not for gas, just an hour out of the city. For breakfast or lunch? Very unlikely given how close it is to the city. They want to make the argument that forcing travelers to trickle past every business in the town at 50 kph is somehow going to translate to a big boom in business, but there's no substance behind that. Those who are intentionally going to Morris will find their way there, and those who aren't will probably not stop there.

It's the same with Falcon Lake. It's a destination, not a stopover. If you're going to Falcon Lake, you'll get there on the prescribed route. If not, then you're probably going to Kenora or further East, in which case you're likely not veering off into this small town anyway. You can't even see the services from the highway, and in any case Falcon Lake only has a tiny store and a tiny gas station.

As final evidence, take the Kenora bypass. It completely circumvents the city, but that turned out to be a very good thing. The traffic that had no intention of ever stopping in the city is now way out there, out of the way. And those who want to make the stop in Kenora on their journey can easily do so. It's a far cry better than having a ton of semi-trailer traffic flowing right through downtown trying to navigate that 90 degree turn on the main street, just in case they may wish to stop (and park where exactly?) and grab an ice cream or coffee. That's just not how it works.

TL;DR - route the twinned TCH based on factors that make sense, not on feelings.

Agreed. Been travelling to visit American family since I have known my wife. Can't remember ever stopping in Morris unless someone really needed a bathroom.

Nobody is buying gas there going both ways....coming up from US you are full, heading to US you want to be as close to E as possible when you hit the gas that's usually a solid 30+ cents per litre cheaper including exchange.

They've also built giant truck stops around Morris that make driving through for truck traffic nearly pointless.

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by Danny D Oh

The entirety of the interstates (29 and 94) in ND save a few urban sections (Fargo where the roads are both widest actually drops right down 55) is at 80 mph which means most people drive at about 140 km/h.

But there's basically zero at-grade crossings.

Will be interesting to see some data from that change. Think it started in 2024.

The speed limit was increased last summer, during the first or second week of August 2025. I can remember it quite vividly because my partner and I went to Chicago to visit her family and on the way down it was 75mph. A week later when we were returning, we got to travel at 80. The urban freeway limits of 55 are a little slow for my liking, but no completely unwarranted during peak hours. It is almost always the case from all the cities in the US I have travelled to. That said, in Chicago, which I have visited most frequently, traffic is either crawling or - in the occasions when it isn't quite as heavy and you can open it up a bit - doing 70 to 80, even in 'construction zones' that are ostensibly photo enforced.

As for interstate standards, with almost no exceptions, the rule is that there are no at-grade crossings save for regular emergency vehicle turn around points. The idea is that it is predictable and safe because people generally travel at between 75 and 80 pmh for the most part (except semis usually around 65-70), and on most of the route network the traffic is actually pretty heavy.

[WayneShuster]

PTH 5, between Carberry and the Assiniboine River Bridge. Fix this bombed out disaster please. Now.

Thanks in advance.

[Mr Tall Forehead]

Originally Posted by WildCake

Didn't the increase to 110 km/h on the TCH come after some upgrades to the sloping of the ditches making the less steep or widening the paved shoulders? To make it safer if someone drove off the road I believe.

IIRC this was in the Doer/Selinger NDP years and they talked about doing this to the TCH east of Winnipeg to Falcon but that got put aside when they got voted out. This was also 15-20 years ago so facts might be a little fuzzy to the point of inaccuracy.

Yeah, the 110kmh changes were made by Selinger when he was desperately trying to improve his popularity from sub-toe fungus level.

[Carboy15]

Yeah. I just looked at the Hwy 2 in AB. One example is Claresholm, which is technically Alberta's analagous to Morris MB. We have Hwy 2 slow down from 110km/h to 50km/h through the town, along with a traffic light. Same goes with Nanton, Ford Macleod, etc. Even Chamberlain SK on Hwy 11 is the same thing.

And yeah, Hwy 1 from East Braintree to Deacons Corner should be raised to 110km/h. It probably has less grade intersections between Deacons and PTH 12. Hwy 1 between Ontario and Deacons may be logical to cap at 100km/h because TCH goes down to 90km/h when it crosses the border. But still, East Braintree to Deacons = 110km/h. If it wasn't for the grade Intersections and would be grade seperated, Hwy 1 East could easily handle 120km/h. I feel like whereever there is a service road, we should at least close a few of the grade Intersections.

[BorealLynx]

I find it curious that MTO has kept the speed limit on the TCH just east of the MB border at 90 kph even on the newly twinned section. I wonder what their reasoning is for having a reduced speed limit on a 4-lane highway?