Three jeers for Highway 34 — Manitoba’s worst road

As Ron MacKenzie got into his vehicle outside Superstore at Grant Avenue and Kenaston Boulevard Thursday, he pointed to the northwest corner of the lot, where a drive-thru-only McDonald’s is under construction.

“That’s only going to make traffic worse,” he said.

Treacherous potholes and crumbling curbs are problems on Route 90, but the unrelenting traffic is the worst part of driving on Kenaston, MacKenzie said, adding the spring melt and heavy summer rain regularly turn portions of the road into lake country.

The major north-south thoroughfare was among the winners (losers?) in Manitoba in CAA’s annual worst roads campaign, and took the dubious honour in the urban category.

The campaign asks drivers to vote for their most despised streets and highways, so CAA can advocate for better infrastructure and more timely repairs, said Ewald Friesen, manager of government and community relations for CAA Manitoba.

“We know that there’s quite a great deal of discontent, and the sad part of this is most folks, rather than taking their concerns to their elected representatives, they tend to share their frustration with their spouse, or their colleagues or their mechanic,” Friesen said.

“So, we thought, how about they share that information with their friends here at CAA, and we’ll use it in our advocacy.”

This year, thousands of motorists, cyclists and pedestrians nominated 711 roads across 69 municipalities for teeth-rattling infamy in the campaign, which runs every spring.

Potholes, poor maintenance and uneven road surfaces were frequently cited, but traffic congestion was also a common concern, Friesen said.

Highway 34 was crowned Manitoba’s worst road for the second consecutive year. The Pembina Valley highway, which runs from the international border to Gladstone, has been on the top-10 list for seven consecutive years.

The top 10:

• Provincial Trunk Highway 34 — Central Plains/Pembina Valley
• Provincial Road 307 — Whiteshell
• Kenaston Boulevard/Route 90 — Winnipeg
• Saskatchewan Avenue — Winnipeg
• Richmond Avenue — Brandon
• Gateway Road — Winnipeg
• Leila Avenue — Winnipeg
• 1st Street — Brandon
• Provincial Road 422 — Pembina Valley
• St. Mary’s Road — Winnipeg

Last year, a few months after Brandon’s 18th Street was bestowed with the title of Manitoba’s worst road, the province announced it was spending $9.7 million for resurfacing.

“According to my contacts in Brandon, 18th Street is now an excellent street to drive down,” Friesen said.

Rosina Sinopoli jokingly suggested the city revert back to its cobblestone roots — routes? — to do away with the never-ending repairs on roads such as Kenaston.

“Winnipeg winters are harsh, but is there not a better solution?” she said. “I can’t believe we can fly to the moon, but yet we can’t find a way to fix this problem.”

The city plans to replace the St. James bridge, expand Kenaston Boulevard to three lanes in each direction from Academy Road to Taylor Avenue and add active transportation routes in the area. Civic officials have said the overhaul is necessary to accommodate continued growth in the southwest part of Winnipeg.

In its 2026 multi-year budget update the city earmarked $1 billion for road renewals over next six years.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca