A provincial agency managing the construction of an all-season road along the east side of Lake Winnipeg has signed an agreement promising jobs, training and economic development for a Manitoba First Nations community.

The Manitoba government's East Side Road Authority and the Bloodvein First Nation announced a memorandum of understanding Wednesday.

The agreement, worth nearly $8 million, paves the way for local people to be trained as labourers and heavy-equipment operators to help build the road.

Bloodvein members will also crush and stockpile gravel and clear areas to allow surveyors access before construction starts.

"This agreement ensures that as work on the road proceeds, residents from the Bloodvein First Nation benefit from the project," Manitoba Transportation Minister Ron Lemieux said in a statement.

Bloodvein, about 225 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, will have to create a separate company to manage its construction activities.

The 170-kilometre road will stretch from Manigotagan to Berens River and permanently link First Nations communities with a long-awaited all-season road. At present, access to the area is limited to winter ice roads and air travel.

According to the East Side Road Authority, more than 30 communities and about 36,000 residents call the region home. First Nations people make up about 96 per cent of the region's population.

The new road is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars and include 11 bridges. The cost will be shared by the provincial and federal governments.

On June 24, the East Side Road Authority signed a similar agreement with Berens River First Nation, which formed the basis of the deal with Bloodvein.

Construction is to begin next fall.

The authority also said Wednesday that Phil Fontaine, the former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and Elijah Harper, the former Manitoba MLA and MP, have been hired as consultants to provide advise First Nations on the road project.

Fontaine will be paid $7,000 monthly and Harper $5,000. Their consulting contracts last one year.

Ernie Gilroy, the CEO of the East Side Road Authority, said the two men have proven track records as advisers and leaders and are both from communities on Lake Winnipeg's east side.

"People of the east side have been waiting decades for an all-season road," Gilroy said. "We are very pleased that both of these First Nations leaders have agreed to work with us."