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The votes are in, and a major route in Brandon has earned the dubious distinction as “Manitoba’s worst road” for 2024.
That’s according to the annual campaign from CAA Manitoba, which asks drivers and residents to highlight the most frustrating roads in the province, with the goal of spurring action from local governments.
Rounding out the top three in this year’s poll are Winnipeg’s Leila Avenue and Highway 307 in Whiteshell Provincial Park — both repeat offenders who are no strangers to the annual list.
Ewald Friesen of CAA Manitoba told 680 CJOB’s The Start that 18th Street in Brandon was far-and-away the winner (or, more accurately, loser) for 2024.
“It’s a municipal street that’s also a provincial highway — so you have a municipal government and a provincial government sort of looking at each other and trying to get some consensus on what to do, how to fix this road,” Friesen said.
“In the meantime, the poor folks in Brandon are looking at a road that is not exactly the best thing we’ve ever seen — crumbling pavement, bad road maintenance, crumbling curbs, massive potholes.”
Friesen said CAA knows the name-and-shame campaign can spark real action, citing Highway 75 in Morris, which received $71 million for road repairs after making a previous list, as an example.
There’s still a lot of work to do, however. Six of the top 10 worst roads have appeared on the list before, including number-two ranked Leila Avenue.
“It placed on our top 10 worst roads list for three consecutive years,” he said.
“Every year, the road has claimed a higher spot: placing seventh in 2022, fifth in 2023, and now second in 2024. I don’t know if Leila’s going to take that number one spot, but we know that this road needs quite a lot of love.”
Rounding out the top 10 worst roads this year: Kenaston Boulevard, Empress Street, Pandora Avenue, Saskatchewan Avenue, Grant and Munroe Avenues, and Inkster Boulevard in Winnipeg, plus St. Francois Xavier’s Provincial Highway 26 and Richmond Avenue in Brandon.
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