WINNIPEG -- Construction is underway on a new service road to help improve traffic safety and flow for thousands of Manitoba residents.

The new road will honour the memory of a Manitoba man killed in a collision near the area last year.

The road will be named Ethan Boyer Way, Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler announced on Wednesday. The road will link Waverley Street to Brady Road.

“We understand as government, we understand as all of us who are drivers, that these changes might add three minutes, might add six minutes onto our drives, but also may add 30 to 60 years on someone’s life,” Schuler said.

Boyer, 19, was killed in a collision on the Perimeter Highway at Brady Road on October 25, 2019.

Sue Zuk-Boyer, Ethan’s mother, was on hand for the announcement.

“This announcement does not take away the pain and the hurt that we feel every day, every second, but there is solace in knowing his memory will live on in the naming of Ethan Boyer Way,” she said.

Last year, the province changed the speed in the area surrounding the intersection from 100 kilometres per hour to 80 kilometres per hour to address safety concerns, following a petition signed by thousands of Manitobans.

According to a release from the province, vehicles will use a traffic signal-controlled intersection at the South Perimeter and Waverley Street to access Brady Road.

An estimated 1,600 vehicles use the South Perimeter Highway daily to Brady Road Resource Management Facility, the province said.

The service road is expected to be finished in November.