[2] The highway is two lanes through Manitoba, with two small divided sections at the north and south junctions with PTH 10 around Minnedosa, which it runs in concurrence with just west of the town.

The route was known as PTH 4 until 1977, when it was renumbered to allow the entire length of the Yellowhead Highway to retain the number 16 designation across all four provinces of western Canada.

Prior to this, the highway turned north for two kilometres and then west past the hamlet of Franklin to Minnedosa, meeting PTH 10 south at the town limits.

The highway was extended two kilometres farther west in 1971 to its current junction with southbound PTH 10 with the construction of the Minnedosa bypass.

Provincial Road 472 (PR 472) is a 9.1-kilometre-long (5.7 mi) north–south spur of PTH 16 in the Prairie View Municipality, providing access to the hamlet of Solsgirth.

It is entirely a two-lane highway, with only the portion between the Yellowhead and Front Street S being paved while the rest is gravel.