Residents of one of Manitoba’s top tourist areas say their roads are being ignored by the provincial government and are worse every year. “Someone said driving from West Hawk to Rennie is like going through a minefield. That’s something I heard from a customer who came in,” said Carol Surowich, owner of the West Hawk Lake Resort. Surowich said that particular stretch of Highway 44 is in terrible shape, as is the portion of the highway that forms the main drag in the West Hawk townsite. “It’s just holes and lumps. It’s in really, really bad repair,” she said. “We’ve had an older gentleman walk across the parking lot to the bar and fall in a pothole.” Lionel St. Godard, who owns the nearby Keystone Resort, said the West Hawk road is so bad the province might as well just gravel it. “People are losing boats off their trailers,” he said. St. Godard pointed out that provincial Transportation Minister Ron Lemieux is the area’s MLA. “People have phoned his office and nothing’s being done about it,” St. Godard said. “Even Tourism should be pushing the government to fix this.” St. Godard said spot-patching and other “band-aid” repairs are done, but the roads need major work. A spokesman for Lemieux said although major repairs are not currently scheduled for those portions of Highway 44, part of the government’s infrastructure plan includes a strategic resurfacing fund and a flexible response fund. Manitoba recently announced a $2-billion infrastructure renewal program that includes Highway 307 through the Whiteshell, and on portions of Highway 44 much farther west, the spokesman said. By PAUL TURENNE Source: http://www.winnipegsun.com/News/Manitoba/2008/05/20/5613881-sun.html
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