Historical Highway Maps of Manitoba
The vast ancient migrating herds of bison and other wildlife carved the earliest paths into the rolling prairie landscape, following the ingrained instincts of uncounted centuries. These trails, along with the rivers and streams, soon became the routes of the first Aboriginal peoples, later European explorers, adventurous fur traders and pioneering settlers as they spread across the countryside in the discovery of an unknown world.
The foot worn paths and rutted dirt trails have evolved into the modern network of roads, highways and bridges that bring our neighbours- and the world- to our doorstep every day. From only 700 miles of trails at the birth of Manitoba in 1870, the highway network is now a 19,000 kilometre, multi-billion dollar legacy, continually evolving and growing to meet the demands of a fast-paced future unimaginable by those travellers of yesterday.
In this site Transportation and Infrastructure has brought together the maps that chronicle the development of Manitoba's formal highway system. These maps parallel the impact of the automobile age as it spurred new road construction across Manitoba. Some of the earliest maps produced by the Good Roads Association, a pioneering lobby group that led the call for road construction before these maps became a provincial responsibility, are included. We have created what we hope will be an interesting cyber trip into the historic development of our highways and Manitoba.
