The new Progressive Conservative government has dumped East Side Road Authority CEO Ernie Gilroy as it begins making changes to an organization it has promised to dismantle.

Gilroy has been replaced by Lance Vigfusson, a deputy minister in the Department of Infrastructure. The government has also replaced five board members for the road authority with senior bureaucrats.

The East Side Road Authority is the provincial government organization responsible for building all-weather roads to remote communities on the east side of Lake Winnipeg.

Premier Brian Pallister has committed to dismantling the road authority and bringing it under control of the Infrastructure Department. It will be a more cost-effective way to manage the construction work, he said.

The organization, established in 2008, is currently working on a 156 kilometre all-season road from Highway 304 to Berens River. The authority website says included in its mandate is "to work with local communities to ensure that local residents benefit from the project."

