Manitoba farmers now have a say in which roads the provincial government fixes first.
The Union of Manitoba Municipalities and Keystone Agricultural Producers are organizing regional transportation committees that will start public meetings next year.
With new demands on roads from heavier trucks and closing rail lines, the committees will try to ensure the most important routes are fixed first, said Wayne Motheral, president of UMM.
Don Dewar, president of KAP, said people at the grassroots level will have a chance to influence spending.
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“Right now, it’s who can lobby the minister the best,” said Dewar. “We want to get the politics out of it and do what needs to be done.”
The two groups have been working on a plan for prioritizing highway work for more than a year, and sent a proposal a month ago to Glen Findlay, minister of highways and transportation.
Findlay announced last week he will set up five regional groups consisting of government employees, and members of KAP and UMM.
The groups will hold public hearings on priorities for road repair in their regions. Findlay said the groups may also discuss rail and air traffic in their communities.
They will report to an advisory council, which will give the recommendations to the deputy minister of highways during a two-year trial.
While final decisions on highway spending are up to the provincial government, Findlay said the groups will have clout.
Five years ago, Findlay said he had a list of requests worth $600 million for roads. Since then, his department has spent about $100 million per year on highways, but the list has grown to $1.5 billion.
The new regional groups must understand the budgetary constraints on their wish lists, said Findlay, constraints he blames on the federal government.
The government wants the federal government to spend part of the fuel tax it collects on roads.
The province’s assistant deputy minister of highways said Manitoba’s road network needs major rehabilitation to match the economic growth in the province.
Barry Tinkler said almost a quarter of the province’s roads are in poor condition.
He expects almost half will fall into this category within the next 10 years, based on current levels of highway spending.
The province spends about $100 million per year on highways, but roads need $180 million per year in rehabilitative work for the next 10 years, said Tinkler.
