This all-season road on the east side of Lake Winnipeg is a multi-year, multibillion-dollar project. In 2000, the communities on the east side of Lake Winnipeg delivered a report with recommendations on where government should focus their long-range planning activities, including increased economic development opportunities and improvements to the transportation network. Construction has been guided through the East Side Transportation Initiative, launched following the East Side Large Area Transportation Network Study undertaken by SNC-Lavalin/AECOM. It is a strategic initiative to provide improved, safe, and more reliable transportation service to remote and isolated communities on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. The final report of the Large Area Transportation Network Study was completed in June 2011 and recommended an all-season road network for the region that is estimated at 1,028 kilometres in length costing $3 billion.
The all-weather road linking Berens River and Bloodvein First Nation to the provincial highway network was completed in December of 2017. Among the work in the planning stages is the all-season road linking Manto Sipi Cree Nation, Bunibonibee Cree Nation and God’s Lake First Nation.
