Come travel our roads in the winter

This past week I was called upon to drive into Winnipeg for medical tests. We left early Friday morning and travelled along highway 11 to Rainy River, then across northern Minnesota from Baudette to Warroad and then north on Highway 12 to the Trans Canada.
The area was under a severe blizzard warning that stretched across southern Manitoba, northern Minnesota and Northwestern Ontario. Listening to the radio, one would have thought twice about travelling, but medical tests necessitated travel.
Driving in darkness, the driving snow made following the road difficult from the Fort to Rainy River. It was difficult to make out what condition the road surface was like. Speed was greatly reduced.
Now I will admit that I drive a four-wheel drive SUV that has winter tires with studs all around and that should provide me with some comfort for winter driving. My wife and I had allotted lots of time to reach the hospital for the tests. With daylight rising as we reached Rainy River, we could tell that the road was snow packed and the blizzard warnings had us feeling good about our early start.
As we cleared US Customs, the highway from Baudette to Warroad was bare. Even north to the Canadian entry point at Middleboro, the highway was bear. Highway 12 from Middleboro to the trans Canada was bare in most sections except where the highway was protected on both sides by trees, but for the most part, the snow was wind swept from the highway and the road was bear. Even the trans Canada was clear of snow going into Winnipeg.
I will admit as the snow piled up in Winnipeg over the course of the afternoon, most of the major routes were less than stellar to drive. I was pleased that my vehicle was in all-wheel-drive and that the winter tires could grip the road well.
Coming home Saturday, we expected the roads to be in poorer shape than Friday. However we were pleasantly surprised that the roads that led south from Winnipeg were 95% bare and Highway 11 from Warroad to Baudette was totally bare.
However Highway 11 from Rainy River to Fort Frances was hard packed with snow and slightly rutted.
One might assume that Manitoba, Minnesota and Ontario all facing the same blizzard snowstorm would all have roads in the same condition after the conclusion of the blizzard and the cleanup that followed in the next 10 hours.
It ain’t so!
The province has declared that the clean up of its highways meet different standards across the province. It is clear to me that the farther one is from the centre of the Universe, Queen’s Park, the poorer the condition of the highways becomes.
Sarah Campbell has invited the premier of the Province to travel our highways. Kathleen Wynne knows better than to take her life into her own hands at the wheel of a vehicle in winter to travel Rainy River District highways.

Glenn Murray, the former mayor of Winnipeg and now the Ontario Minister of Transportation knows how poor Manitoba highways can be in winter blizzards, but also understands that he should not travel in Northwestern Ontario in winter.

It is a shame, that residents in this part of Ontario have to risk driving on inferior maintained roads. We realize that the company maintaining our highways is following provincial policy. But when the policy is so flawed, maybe it is time for both the premier and the Minister of Transportation to leave Queens Park and discover how poor their political decision on highway maintenance is.
I welcome both to the Rainy River district, a location that Premier Wynne has admitted that she has never been to.

–Jim Cumming,
Publisher