The reeve of the Municipality of Emerson-Franklin welcomes the province's plans to upgrade PR 201 to RTAC level.

Manitoba's infrastructure minister says work on raising the highway to the highest national standards from Dominion City to Highway 59 will start this year.

Dave Carlson says PR 201 is their main east-west trade route and to finally have it improved to accommodate heavy commercial truck traffic is great news.

"We've lobbied pretty hard for this. It's huge for our local producers, whether they are grain producers or cattle and hog operators because it's not only about the product getting out but it's also about the services coming into our municipality such as fuel, or feed. It's going to have a big impact on our area."

Carlson says the highway upgrade creates the potential for industry and businesses to begin developing in Emerson-Franklin. The reeve feels without this kind of heavy commercial infrastructure communities are kind of "dead in the water."

"If you look at a map of our region, after you get past Dominion City, it's kind of like driving off a cliff in our area. I think a lot of businesses would look at that and say, 'I really can't set up a shop or a business here because the road infrastructure isn't there."

The province's announcement on PR 201 dovetails with Emerson-Franklin's efforts to improve other infrastructure needs. The municipality has also made vast improvements to its broadband infrastructure through Winkler-based tech firm Valley Fiber.

"We're trying to put all these things together to stimulate the economic activity that we really need here," says Carlson.