Thursday afternoon in the City of Brandon the Infrastructure Minister, Blaine Pedersen made a significant announcement involving six different projects to improve Manitoba's roads. This announcement is an investment of over $3 million.

"This is on the schedule for later this summer or fall. It's to be done in 2017. It's working out the agreement with the City of Brandon and the other municipalities, do the final design work and get it out to tender," said Pedersen.

The minister noted new projects planned to start in 2017-18 include:
- reconstruction of PTH 1A in Brandon from 34th Street to west of 38th Street;
- intersection improvements on PTH 3 at McCreary Road;
- intersection improvements on PR 334 and Taylor Farm Road;
- intersection improvements on PTH 32 at Hespeler Avenue and upgrades to portions of PTH 32, shoulders and driveway access;
- drainage improvements and utility relocation on PR 332 in the vicinity of Starbuck; and
- paving provincial roads in Pilot Mound on PA 658 from Victoria Avenue to Mound Avenue and Broadway Avenue between Frazer Avenue and PTH 3.

"We are proud to work with our municipal partners on improving the safety and quality of our roadways in communities across the province," Pedersen said. "Our government has promised predictable and stable funding for infrastructure in Manitoba.These new projects announced under the Urban Highway Fund will improve important access ways and further enable economic activity in these regions."

According to Pedersen it is the Governments goal to complete these projects in 2017, he added each cost sharing project is different, in terms of how much each party is paying.

"All projects are different. There isn't a particular funding model on each of them. It's depending on the size of the project, depending on the capacity of the Municipality to participate in this," outlined Pedersen. "It's an agreement worked out between infrastructure and the participating Municipality. That's how the funding is agreed upon to cost share on these."

Pedersen noted at this time the cost sharing deal is not completely in place and would like to see a deal reached with each of the municipalities once the tenders have been awarded. Motorists are reminded to slow down and use caution approaching and in construction zones for their own safety and the safety of workers.