Winter has brought an end to the first phase of a multimillion-dollar upgrade of Highway 10 between Flin Flon and Bakers Narrows.
A provincial spokesperson said work on three intersections – at Schist Lake, Big Island and the Channing turnoff – is mostly complete.
This work included road widening, new turning lanes and visibility improvements, including the blasting away of rock ridges.
Sections of the road surface will remain gravel for the winter as the final surfacing work could not be completed due to the cold weather, the spokesperson said.
A contractor will return to complete the surfacing of the intersections by early next summer, added the spokesperson.
This year’s highway work cost about $3.2 million. Future work is to include highway grading and paving as well as causeway and guardrail improvements, though specific details have not been finalized.
Upgrade
Premier Greg Selinger announced in 2011 that his government would upgrade and resurface the 21-km stretch of highway between Flin Flon and Bakers Narrows.
Last year, Selinger said the three-year project would likely cost north of $20 million.
In the end, motorists will notice not only a smoother highway, but one that is also likely wider with diminished curves.
Flin Flon MLA Clarence Pettersen has said the revamped section of highway will be “very similar” to the refurbished segment between Bakers Narrows and Cranberry Portage.
Pettersen said ore trucks from the Lalor and Reed mines will be using the highway on a regular basis, and the road in its current state would be “really chewed up” by the industrial traffic.
