New passing lanes an investment in safety

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This article was published 30/01/2025 (311 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s a change that is long overdue.

The Manitoba government announced last week that passing lanes will be constructed at various spots along the heavily travelled portion of Highway 8 that runs between Selkirk and Gimli. The 54-kilometre stretch of two-lane roadway is among the province’s busiest, particularly during summer months, when it connects city residents with the beaches on the west side of Lake Winnipeg’s southern basin.

It’s during those times, when daily traffic volumes can exceed 4,500 vehicles, that driving on Highway 8 can be perilous, owing to the inclination of some impatient drivers to attempt dangerous multi-vehicle passing manoeuvres while traffic is essentially bumper to bumper, despite a steady stream of vehicles approaching from the opposite direction that makes it unsafe to do so.

At least three fatalities have occurred as a result of head-on collisions on the single-lane portion of Highway 8 since 2021. The potential for disaster is such that many who live along the highway full-time opt for alternate routes during high-traffic seasons.

“Most of us locals in the summer use (different) highways,” says Gimli resident Teri Nicholson, who initiated an online petition urging the province to add passing lanes. “Most of us would refuse to drive on Highway 8 because you’re taking your life in your hands.”

As anyone who has regularly travelled the Manitoba portion of Highway 16 — a.k.a. the Yellowhead Highway — that stretches northwest from just west of Portage la Prairie to Neepawa can attest, the addition of passing lanes at regular intervals can contribute greatly to the safety and confidence with which motorists can navigate a single-lane route.

With passing lanes constructed and the distances to the next safe-passing zones clearly posted, most of those twitchy-toed drivers whose behind-the-wheel imprudence might prompt a perilous pass are able to temporarily suppress the urge.

The passing-lane project for Highway 8 is currently in the design phase, but the Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure website states construction is expected to begin this summer and be completed by the fall of 2026. The number of passing lanes that will be added and the overall cost of the project have not been made available.

Nicholson’s petition, which included approximately 1,100 signatures, was delivered last September to the office of Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor. A spokesperson for the department said planning for the passing lanes on Highway 8 predates the petition and is a result of the regular process of “assessing traffic volumes and safety priorities.”

The province is to be commended for finally taking this necessary and relatively budget-friendly step (compared to fully twinning the highway) to make one of southern Manitoba’s crucial city-to-cottage arteries safer for those who depend on it.

While it’s overdue, it’s also a change that shouldn’t be necessary, but for the selfish and impetuous behaviour of some drivers whose reckless roadway antics make it so. And it’s not a panacea. Even with the presence of strategically positioned passing lanes along Highway 8, there will be some whose worrisome level of self-absorption and reckless disregard will continue to propel them into dangerous passing moves in heavy single-lane traffic.

As such, and as it always is when one is behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, extreme caution during highway travel will continue to be required.

But any measure that improves the odds of Manitobans getting safely to and from their well-earned getaways on this province’s beloved lakes and beaches is a job well done.