It's going to take two summers to get there, but motorists will one day enjoy a much smoother ride through the town of Morris. Mayor Gavin van der Linde says Nelson River Construction has begun ripping apart Main Street. He notes "they're going to be replacing the southbound lanes this year and they'll be replacing the northbound lanes next year. And it's one of those projects that's been way overdue. We've had drainage problems in town, the highway's been falling apart and so all of that is being replaced this year."

Mayor van der Linde says this project is more complex than most highway improvement projects in Southern Manitoba. "It's a lot more complex because it's inside town limits which includes a lot more complex water and sewer and gas lines and everything and including the sidewalks and the light standards. So pretty well everything from building to building is being replaced."

Crews have broken the project into thirds and this year have started on the north side of town. Mayor van der Linde says "they're replacing the northern third first and they'll slowly move south and replace the second third and third third as the summer goes. But they will need the entire summer with good weather to make sure the project fits and works on schedule." Some people have questioned why they're starting in front of Cruisers Diner, which is near the center of town. Mayor van der Linde says "where Cruisers is is the end of the first third of town and so they've started taking out the highway on this side and they're working on the land drainage system on the very far north and replacing all the pipes, the storm water sewer under the highway."

 

Mayor van der Linde is convinced this project will improve the town in the long run. But he notes in the meantime it will have a negative impact on a number of businesses. "We just keep encouraging local patrons to keep supporting the local businesses, even where the construction is so they can keep their businesses open."

 

 

 

Majority of funding for this project comes from the province, seeing as it's a provincial highway. The town of Morris is responsible for the land drainage system. The town has received funding through the Building Canada Fund.

Once again, Mayor van der Linde says this fix is long overdue. "I think the town and Manitoba Infrastructure have received a lot of calls over the last years. We receive many calls at the town office and I know Manitoba Infrastructure as well and it will be a good thing to be able to give people a decent highway to come into Canada on."