Provincial Trunk Highways are the primary highways, and Provincial Roads are the secondary highways.These Provincial Trunk Highways are numbered from 1 to 99 for mainline routes and 100 to 199 for loop/spur routes (only four currently exist).

Provincial Trunk Highways 1 and 75, as well as the Perimeter Highway (PTH 100/PTH 101), are the most important and are divided highways for most of their length with some sections at expressway or freeway standards.

PTHs 1A (Brandon), 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 9A, 10, 12, 14, 16, 44, 52 and 59 also have some divided sections.

Some of these routes are gravel for part or all of their length.

The speed limit is generally 80 to 100 km/h (50 to 60 mph).