Provincial Trunk Highway 26 (PTH 26), also known as Chemin Assiniboine Trail, is a provincial highway in 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 is an east-west route that begins and ends at the Trans-Canada Highway (PTH 1). The western terminus is located near the interchange of PTH 1 and PTH 1A approximately east of

Portage la Prairie Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. In 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Highway (exactly ...

, while the eastern terminus is southeast of St. François Xavier and west of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

's Perimeter Highway. PTH 26 provides access to the small communities of St. François Xavier and Poplar Point. It serves as an alternative scenic route between Portage la Prairie and

as it closely follows the

Assiniboine River The Assiniboine River ( ; ) is a long river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked ...

which flows south of the highway. The speed limit on this highway is .

Route description

PTH 26 begins just outside of the

city limits at a junction with PTH 1 (

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

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 ...

) in the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie. The highway heads north for to turn right onto the original alignment of the Trans-Canada. It heads northeast for a few kilometers, passing along the southern edge of High Bluff as it begins paralleling the

. PTH 26 crosses a small creek and has an intersection with PR 430, prior to passing through the town of Poplar Point. PTH 26 enters the Rural Municipality of St. Francois Xavier, turning southeast along the banks of the Assiniboine River for the next several kilometers, having a short concurrency (overlap) with PR 248 and traveling through the communities of Pigeon Lake and St. Francois Xavier, where the highway forms the main thoroughfare. PTH 26 comes to an end shortly thereafter at another junction with PTH 1 (Trans-Canada Highway / Yellowhead Highway). The entire length of Manitoba Highway 26 is a rural, paved, two-lane highway.

History

Between 1928 and 1938, the number PTH 26 was used for the portion of highway between Brandon and Minnedosa. This became part of PTH 10 in 1938. Prior to 1958, the current PTH 26 was part of the original PTH 1. Most of PTH 1's current route between Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie, which provides a more direct course, was constructed in 1958. The section that was replaced by the new route, the current-day PTH 26, was then designated as part of the transprovincial PTH 4, along with current PTH 9, 16, and 44. In 1968, it was again renumbered to its current designation.

Major intersections

References

External links

Historical Tour: Highway 26
{{MBHighways 026 Former segments of the Trans-Canada Highway