Manitoba Highway 75
Lord Selkirk Highway Route Lord Selkirk (French) | ||||
PTH 75 highlighted in red. | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by Manitoba Infrastructure | ||||
Length | 101 km (63 mi) | |||
Existed | 1949[1]–present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | ![]() ![]() | |||
North end | ![]() ![]() | |||
Location | ||||
Country | Canada | |||
Province | Manitoba | |||
Rural municipalities | ||||
Major cities | Winnipeg | |||
Towns | Morris | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Provincial Trunk Highway 75 (PTH 75, also officially known as the Lord Selkirk Highway) is a major highway in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is the main link between the city of Winnipeg and the Canada–United States border, where it connects with Interstate 29 (I-29)/U.S. Route 81 (U.S. 81).
Route description
The highway, which is part of Canada's National Highway System, begins at the Pembina-Emerson Border Crossing and runs approximately 101 kilometres (63 miles) north, along on the west side of the Red River, to Winnipeg. There it connects with Pembina Highway, which forms the southern portion of Winnipeg Route 42.[2][3] PTH 75 is also part of an International Mid-Continent Trade Corridor, a network of highways and rail lines that connects cities in central regions of North America.
The entire route is a four-lane divided highway, but access is not fully controlled. Proposals exist to upgrade the highway to an expressway or freeway standard, with bypasses at the town of Morris and Winnipeg neighbourhood of St. Norbert.
History
The PTH 75 route originated as the Pembina Trail, which was used to travel between the Selkirk Settlement and Fort Pembina during the 19th century. The provincial government commemorated this by designating the road as the Lord Selkirk Highway in 1962.[4] By the early 20th century, the trail evolved into the Canadian leg of the Jefferson Highway leading from Winnipeg to New Orleans.
When Manitoba introduced the numbering system for highways in 1920, the route was originally designated as PTH 14.[5] In 1949, PTH 14 was re-designated as PTH 75 in order to match U.S. Route 75 as, at that time, these roads connected at the Noyes–Emerson East Border Crossing, PTH 75's former southern terminus, and it was common practice for Manitoba to match highway numbers with connecting U.S. routes.[1] As part of the re-designation, former PTH 14 between Emerson and Letellier was replaced by a new route approximately three kilometres west of the original road that closely followed the Red River.[6] In the 1950s, PTH 75's route through the Rural Municipality of Ritchot was rebuilt to the west of its original course (now Red River and Turnbull Drives) and bypasses were built at the communities of Ste. Agathe and St. Jean Baptiste.[6]
PTH 75 was gradually converted to a four-lane highway between 1985 and 1994. The exception was a three-kilometre section between the Emerson East border station and PTH 29. This section of road was eliminated from PTH 75's route in 2012 when the provincial government officially rerouted the latter to the Pembina-Emerson Border Crossing following the closures of the Emerson East and Noyes border stations a few years earlier. Motorists wishing to travel U.S. 75 are now required to detour through Pembina, North Dakota via I-29, North Dakota Highway 59, and Minnesota State Highway 171. The former PTH 75 route through Emerson is now part of Provincial Road 200 and Boundary Avenue.[7]
The federal and provincial governments are currently reconstructing the PTH 75 approach to the Emerson border crossing in order to accommodate future expansion at the port of entry.[8] The Manitoba government also has future plans to reroute PTH 75 around the Winnipeg neighborhood of St. Norbert and connect it to Winnipeg Route 90 (Kenaston Boulevard).[9]
Speed limits
On February 27, 2008 the Manitoba Highway Traffic Board approved a request by the Government of Manitoba to raise the speed limit on PTH 75 to 110 km/h (70 mph).[10] The speed limit change took effect on July 1, 2009, with the speed limit raised to 110 km/h (70 mph) from St. Jean Baptiste to the Canada-U.S. border. The remainder of the highway continues to have a speed limit of 100 km/h (60 mph) except in urban areas.[11]
- Canada-U.S. border to St. Jean Baptiste- 110 km/h (70 mph)
- Morris- 50–80 km/h (30–50 mph)
- Remainder of Highway- 100 km/h (60 mph)
Flooding issues
PTH 75's proximity to the flood-prone Red River causes closures of the highway during spring flooding. The town of Morris is one of the most problematic areas, as the town is forced to close off the dikes surrounding the town, thereby cutting off PTH 75. These closures have a significant impact on the trucking industry, as PTH 75 is the primary transportation route between Winnipeg and the United States. The Manitoba Trucking Association estimates the closing of the highway costs the industry $1.5 million CAD per week. The closures also have a significant impact on Morris businesses that depend on travelers passing through town.[12][13] Several solutions have been considered to fix the ongoing problem, including the building of new bridges and raising of roadways along PTH 75.[14][15] In June 2020, the Manitoba government unveiled a plan to upgrade a portion of PR 246 to utilize it as a bypass when the dike at the north end of Morris is closed.[16]
Major intersections
This is the travel route for Provincial Trunk Highway 75 (PTH 75) from south to north:
Division | Location | km | mi | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emerson – Franklin | Emerson | 0 | 0.0 | Canada – United States border at Pembina–Emerson Border Crossing![]() ![]() | ||
0.5 | 0.31 | ![]() | Formerly PTH 75 south to US 75 and former northern terminus of PTH 29; junction closed in 2019 | |||
| 2 | 1.2 | ![]() ![]() | [17] | ||
Montcalm | | 15 | 9.3 | ![]() | ||
Letellier | 19 | 12 | ![]() | |||
| 26 | 16 | ![]() | |||
St. Jean Baptiste | 35 | 22 | ![]() | PR 246 bridge over Red River permanently closed, no access to PR 246 north of St. Jean Baptiste | ||
Town of Morris | 45 | 28 | ![]() | Southern end of PTH 23 concurrency | ||
46 | 29 | ![]() | Northern end of PTH 23 concurrency | |||
Morris | | 48 | 30 | ![]() | ||
59 | 37 | ![]() | ||||
Ritchot | Ste. Agathe | 73 | 45 | ![]() | ||
Glenlea | 82 | 51 | Glenlea Road | Formerly PR 420 north | ||
| 87 | 54 | ![]() | Formerly PR 429 east | ||
Howden | 92 | 57 | ![]() | |||
City of Winnipeg | 98 | 61 | Turnbull Drive | Southern end of Route 42 concurrency | ||
101 | 63 | 94 | ![]() | Interchange; northern end of Route 42 concurrency; signed as exits 94A (east) and 94B (west); PTH 100 exit 18 | ||
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1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
References
- ^ a b "Winnipeg-Emerson Highway to Become #75" (PDF). Province of Manitoba archives. 14 March 1949. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
- ^ "The National Highway System (NHS) Map". tc.gc.ca.
- ^ "Modern, Developed Infrastructure". gov.mb.ca.
- ^ Anne Matheson Henderson. "Manitoba Pageant: The Lord Selkirk Settlement at Red River, Part 3". mhs.mb.ca.
- ^ "Roads and Highways". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
- ^ a b "Historical Highway Maps of Manitoba". Manitoba Infrastructure. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ Highway 75 at Canhighways.com
- ^ "Border Highway Redesign Displayed At Emerson Open House". PembinaValleyOnline.com. 6 March 2015.
- ^ "Province to Redesign South Perimeter Highway, Create St. Norbert Bypass". ChrisD.ca. 1 August 2017.
- ^ "Manitoba to raise speed limit". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ "Province of Manitoba - News Releases - Speed Limit To Increase On Certain Sections Of Twinned Highway". gov.mb.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2017-09-04.
- ^ "Hwy. 75 reopens, truckers happy". Winnipeg Free Press. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- ^ "Red River flooding closes key Manitoba highway". Reuters. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- ^ "Hwy 75 Flood Plans Expected". Steinbach Online. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- ^ "Highway 75 revisited: Four ideas to keep road open". Winnipeg Free Press. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- ^ "Groening "Pleased" With Decision To Upgrade PR 246". SteinbachOnline.com. 6 June 2020.
- ^ "Manitoba Infrastructure Monitoring New Access To Emerson Crossing". PembinaValleyOnline. 15 January 2020.