Provincial Trunk Highway 45 (PTH 45) is a provincial highway in the

Parkland Region Parkland is an informal geographic region of the Canadian province of Manitoba, located between Lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis on the east and the Manitoba–Saskatchewan border on the west. The largest population centre is the city of Dauphin, ...

of the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. It runs from PTH 16 and PTH 83 in the town of Russell to PTH 10 north of the village of

Erickson Erickson may refer to: Places Canada * Erickson, British Columbia, an unincorporated area *Erickson, Manitoba Erickson is an unincorporated urban community in the Municipality of Clanwilliam – Erickson within the Canadian province of Manitoba ...

. PTH 45 provides an alternate route to

Riding Mountain National Park Riding Mountain National Park is a national park in Manitoba, Canada. The park is located within Treaty 2 Territory and sits atop the Manitoba Escarpment. Consisting of a protected area of , the forested parkland stands in sharp contrast to the ...

for travellers coming from

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

and the western part of Manitoba as opposed to taking the

Yellowhead Highway The Yellowhead Highway () is a major interprovincial highway in Western Canada that runs from Winnipeg west to Graham Island off the coast of British Columbia via Saskatoon and Edmonton. It stretches across the four western provinces of Britis ...

to Minnedosa and PTH 10 north. PTH 45 is officially named the Russell Subdivision Trail. The

speed limit Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed, express ...

is 100 km/h (62.5 mph).

Route description

PTH 45 begins in the Rural Municipality of Russell - Binscarth in Russell at an intersection with PTH 16 / PTH 83 at the southeastern corner of town. It passes by some businesses before heading through rural farmland to leave Russell and enter the

Rural Municipality of Riding Mountain West The Rural Municipality of Riding Mountain West is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is located in Manitoba's Parkland region, between Riding Mountain National Park near the province's western border with Saska ...

. The highway curves southeastward as it passes through the communities of Silverton and

Angusville Angusville is a local urban district in the Rural Municipality of Riding Mountain West, Manitoba, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend fro ...

, crossing PR 478 and PR 476 prior to entering the

Rossburn Municipality Rossburn Municipality is a rural municipality (RM) in the Parkland Region of Manitoba, Canada. It was named for Reverend Richard R. Ross, an early settler to the region. History The municipality was incorporated on January 1, 2015, via t ...

. PTH 45 travels through the

Waywayseecappo First Nation The Waywayseecappo First Nation (; ) is a First Nations band government whose reserve is located east of Russell, Manitoba, Canada. The First Nation's reserve is and is located near the southwestern corner of the Riding Mountain National Park. ...

, crossing a lake (via

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

) and the Birdtail River, as well as passing through the main business district of the reserve. The highway then goes through several switchbacks as it leaves the First Nation and travels through the town of Rossburn, where it has an intersection with PR 264 (Main Street), and the community of

Vista Vista may refer to: Software *Windows Vista, the line of Microsoft Windows client operating systems released in 2006 and 2007 * VistA, (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) a medical records system of the United States ...

. Crossing into the

Rural Municipality of Yellowhead The Rural Municipality of Yellowhead is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba. History The municipality was incorporated on January 1, 2015 via the amalgamation of the Municipality of Shoal Lake and the RM of Str ...

, PTH 45 bypasses the town of Oakburn along its north side, having a junction between PTH 21 and PR 577, before travelling southeast through farmland for the next several kilometres. It passes through Menzie, where it has an intersection with PR 566, on its way to bypass the town of Elphinstone on its south side, crossing the

Little Saskatchewan River The Little Saskatchewan River is a river in western Manitoba. It originates in Riding Mountain National Park at Lake Audy and flows about south through the communities of Minnedosa and Rapid City. Its approximate length is 185 km. It jo ...

and having an intersection with PR 354. Entering the Rural Municipality of Harrison Park, PTH 45 passes by Sandy Lake, where it junctions with PR 250, and

Rackham Rackham may refer to: People *Arthur Rackham (1867–1939), English illustrator and painter * Bernard Rackham (1876–1964), English museum curator and writer on ceramics and stained glass * Cameron Rackham (born 1975), New Zealand former profe ...

, where it junctions with PR 270, as it travels past several lakes over the next several kilometres, crossing one of them via a causeway. The highway crosses the

Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the Arctic Ocean, Arctic oceans. The trail extends over ; it is now the longe ...

, entering the Rural Municipality of Clanwilliam - Erickson, and coming to an end shortly thereafter at an intersection with PTH 10 (John Bracken Highway) north of

. The entire length of Manitoba Highway 45 is a rural, paved, two-lane highway.

History

When the highway was first designated in 1959, PTH 45 was dubbed derisively by some locals as "The Turkey Trail". This was due to its narrow and winding nature at the time, which resembled the winding bush paths commonly found on Prairie farms. This, along with some very sharp curves in the western section between Elphinstone and Russell, increased the travel time along this route. By 1966, the highway had been realigned to closely follow the Canadian National Railway (CNR) Rossburn Subdivision line, removing the sharp curves and unnecessary turns and allowing the highway to be more streamlined for safer travel.

Major intersections

Related route

Provincial Road 566 (PR 566) is a north–south spur of PTH 45, connecting the hamlets of Menzie and

Olha Olha is a Ukrainian feminine given name related to Olga. Bearers include: * Olha Basanska (born 1992), Ukrainian footballer * Olha Basarab (1889–1924), Ukrainian political activist and alleged spy * Olha Bibik (born 1990), Ukrainian sprinte ...

via Rogers and Seech. It also provides access to the Swystun Pioneer Settlement Park via Road 112N. Within Menzie, it is known as 1st Avenue. PR 566 begins within the

at an intersection with PTH 45 (Russell Subdivision Trail) within the hamlet of Menzie, travelling through the community along 1st Avenue before heading due north along Road 130W, crossing Road 105N (which leads to the Holy Transfiguration Ukrainian Church Historic Site), and entering the

Municipality of Harrison Park The Municipality of Harrison Park is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba that incorporated on January 1, 2015 via the amalgamation of the RMs of Harrison and Park. It was formed as a requirement of ''The Municipal Am ...

at an intersection with PR 470. It travels through the locality of Rogers, crossing Rossburn Road (which leads to

) before having an intersection with Road 112N (which leads to Swystun Pioneer Heritage Park) and Horod Road (which leads to

Horod Horod ( cyrl, город, und) from Old Slavonic '' gord'' is a version of the Slavic word meaning "town", "city" or "castle", also found in Slavic languages as '' grad'' or '' gorod''. It is mostly found in Czech, Slovak, Belarusian and Ukrai ...

). The highway now makes a sharp left onto Road 114N as it passes through Seech, now travelling due west for a few kilometres through rural farmland to enter the

before coming to an end at an intersection with PR 577 just north of

. The entire length of PR 566 is a gravel, two-lane road. Prior to 1992, PR 566 ran along what is now PR 577 between PTH 45 / PTH 21 near Oakburn to the PR 566 / PR 577 intersection north of Olha. What is currently PR 566 was a collection of different highways, consisting of former portions of PR 470, PR 359, as well as PR 577 and a short section of municipal Road 130W.

References

External links

Manitoba Official Map - Western Manitoba
{{Authority control 045