Normally, when Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure (MTI) plans on spending millions of dollars in your area, there usually is appreciation that the provincial department is spending part of their capital budget in your area.
In the case of a major improvement to the intersection of Hwy. No. 83 and Hwy. No. 10, MTI is being asked to pump the brakes and consult the community before continuing on with the planned design: a single-lane roundabout that is intended to accommodate the large, heavy traffic that exists in our logging and agricultural community.
A consultation that at first was being left up to the Town of Swan River, before MTI decided at last to organize an Information and Education Session today from 4-8 p.m. at the Veterans Community Hall to share the detailed designs and project plans directly with the people in the region.
“The process of the Town requesting a change to this intersection began well before I got on council, going back maybe 20 years or so,” said Town of Swan River Mayor Lance Jacobson. “Council was lobbying on behalf of citizens that were complaining about the intersection that was unsafe for turning vehicles.”
Part of the safety concerns is the lack of a left-turn priority on a four-lane intersection, where it becomes difficult to see sufficiently down two lanes of traffic when turning left heading north or south and facing a larger vehicle.
Once the traffic studies were done to see if the flow warranted a significant improvement to the intersection that falls under the jurisdiction of MTI, potential solutions began coming up after 2018.
“During the time leading up to that, council was saying we wanted a turning lane,” said Jacobson. “In our minds, that seemed pretty clear that a turning lane or a turning light was the easiest thing. We see them in a lot of different cities, outside of Manitoba as well. Just have a blinking arrow that blinks for a little while to allow some traffic to move before clearing up the intersection and allowing everyone else to move forward.”
Jacobson added that council learned that adding a mere left-turn signal to the existing intersection would not meet the current MTI engineering standards for an intersection of that type and that level of traffic.
In 2020, council was presented with two design options to choose from for what the eventual improvement could look like: four lanes reduced to three with the middle lane being a left-turn lane, protected by a concrete median that would extend back far enough that the businesses adjacent to the intersection would be blocked off from left turn access, such as downtown traffic travelling to Qwik Stop on the north-west corner; or, a single-lane roundabout that still had concrete medians extending into Main Street, but shorter, and provided better left-turn access to adjacent businesses.
“At the time, council said they supported the roundabout,” said Jacobson. “But, in our minds at the time, we thought there was going to be a public consultation.”
At the time, EngageMB posted a voluntary survey to gauge public opinion on the intersection improvement. The Town did not feel the information was presented fairly enough, and conducted their own survey, which came up with different results that saw most public support going towards a mere left-turn signal with no protected left-turn lane, as in no concrete median.
MTI was planning to continue with designing a roundabout as initially recommended, and Town council felt this needed another look. On May 3, 2022, Town council passed another resolution requesting MTI to hold a public consultation regarding the roundabout, especially if installing a non-protected left-turn signal was off the table.
“We felt that was key because we didn’t want to be making that decision,” said Jacobson.
Fast-forward closer to present day, two years after an election that sees a government change and another minister in charge of infrastructure, council was assured that a consultation would be held, even if the roundabout was the option that was currently being pursued, a consultation that has finally arrived today, which promises to show details on the dimensions and how significantly large traffic can be expected to navigate it successfully.
Jacobson noted that council was never really a fan of either option that was initially proposed, but remains on the record for recommending a roundabout design, with the caveat that MTI should earn the trust of the people with a public consultation.
“I know a lot of people still say something needs to be done with the intersection, but (MTI) is the one that does the traffic analysis and setting goals to be sure the highways are safe and that traffic keeps moving. It might come down to saying that maybe we don’t do anything and put this on the shelf for the next 20 years.”
Jacobson also sees that this intersection affects more than just the Town of Swan River residents, but affects the neighbouring communities and all traffic that comes through Swan River, especially considering that Hwy. No. 10 is one of two major highways in Manitoba that leads to the North.
However, Jacobson noted that a discussion of the intersection improvement has never been officially discussed at a G4 meeting amongst the Town of Swan River, Municipality of Swan Valley West, Municipality of Minitonas-Bowsman and RM of Mountain.
“I’ve had a conversation with a few of the Reeves, but I’ve never said my position on it,” he said. “I’ve just said that we’ve had a conversation with MTI and have been lobbying to make it a safer intersection.”
Jacobson also noted that he has not made recommendations to his fellow elected council members outside of the Town as to what they should be advocating for regarding the intersection improvements, despite some publicly stated suggestions from Municipality of Swan Valley West Reeve Bill Gade that Jacobson asked them to oppose a roundabout.
“That’s absolutely false, and anyone that says that is not telling the truth,” said Jacobson. “I have never spoke with a member of any municipality or councillor to say that they should oppose it when they get a chance to speak with an MTI representative or minister. They have their own minds and can speak with their own mouths.
“If they choose to voice their opinions, they have the opportunity to do the same at the public meeting or directly with the Infrastructure Minister.”
Jacobson also said that the scope of this project is quite large and construction could be disruptive for one or two years, according to the information he has been given. Some residents may recall a Main Street renewal project that saw part of downtown Swan River torn down to gravel for a significant time more than 15 years ago.
However, projects of this type are expected to be an investment that serves the needs of a community for decades, and not necessarily just what is needed at this exact moment.
“This consultation is part of a process, and it’s not a slam dunk,” said Jacobson. “MTI is going to do their consult, take it back to their engineers and share the feedback from Swan River, (the Town) will provide their feedback, and the government will make a decision from there.
“Some people think that the shovels are going into the ground in the spring when the project hasn’t even gone to tender. This has to go through the consultation period first. There was talk that perhaps it might start next summer, but it hasn’t been put to tender but it’s possible it might not start until 2027.”
The opportunity to speak about the project in person takes place at the Veterans Community Hall tonight from 4-8 p.m.. If you’ve missed that window, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Lisa Naylor’s contact information is 204·945·3723 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Deputy Minister Ryan Klos’ information is 204·945·3768 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..