WINNIPEG -- The Manitoba government unveiled its South Perimeter Highway Design Study on Thursday, which showcases the changes ahead for PTH 100.

“Coming out of the first safety review of the South Perimeter Highway, we recognized as a government, the safer we make the Perimeter Highway, the less safe uncontrolled intersections on the Perimeter Highway become,” said Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler.

“Thus, on November 10, 2017 our government also announced a $3.6 million functional study of the South Perimeter Highway. This functional study is a vision of what the South Perimeter Highway should look like going into the future.”

This study includes input from both stakeholders and the public and involves areas in Headingley, Macdonald, Springfield, and Winnipeg. Schuler said it will serve as the province’s blueprint for the next 20 to 30 years.

It goes on to outline the changes coming to PTH 100, which will be completed in two phases. Schuler said the study will guide safety improvements on the South Perimeter Highway.

The first phase includes upgrading the highway to a four-lane divided freeway, with improvements to the structure, interchanges, and bridges. The second phase includes upgrading the highway to a six-lane divided freeway, reconfiguring the existing PTH 100, and building new interchanges.

“Our government’s number one priority will also be the safety of Manitobans on our roads,” the minister said.

“Our goal is to make the South Perimeter safer and easier to travel for the more than 30,000 vehicles that drive on the South Perimeter, for that matter, for the Perimeter Highway, every day.”

In November 2017, the Manitoba government announced it hired WSP Canada Group Ltd. to put together the study into the reconstruction of the South Perimeter Highway.

The province said its goal was to upgrade the highway to a freeway standard with no at-grade crossings from the Trans-Canada Highway West interchange at Portage Avenue to Trans-Canada Highway East interchange at Fermor Avenue. Any intersecting roads or railways would instead be separated by interchanges and overpasses.

Public engagement for the project began in 2018, which involved nine open houses between August 2018 and December 2019.