Congratulations to the recipients of SHCA’s annual awards; winners received their award during SHCA’s Annual Convention, which took place earlier this month in Saskatoon.
The Western Canadian Roadbuilders & Heavy Construction Association (WCR&HCA) are heading to Waikiki in February 2023! Mark your calendars and plan to attend this amazing event in paradise.
More information will be released throughout 2022.
Like you, I am concerned about what the provincial budget for 2022–23 DID NOT contain for work during this budget year.
With the spring tender now out, it has been confirmed that there is no money for new projects. Virtually all the work available from the Highways ministry has already been tendered.
I don’t need to tell you what is wrong with that, but it is something the public should be aware of so they can hold this government to account. What is not in the budget – and the message that sends – contradicts what the provincial government is telling voters about wanting to grow the economy past pre-pandemic levels.
The minister keeps referring to the government’s record of spending on highways. This is not in line with what the provincial government is saying about investing to grow the province.
Spending is a reaction to what’s happening now. Investment brings business opportunities to Saskatchewan and requires thoughtful planning. The two aren’t the same.
Private investments being made in this province are being promoted by the Saskatchewan government as evidence of its success. Those who make the decisions about private investments would be wise to wonder how committed this government is to truly supporting growth.
Without critical infrastructure – such as roads and highways — improving and expanding, growth in this province will be stifled. For a province dependent on trade that moves so much of our exports to international markets by shipping them out of province by trucks, it makes little sense why there is not more provincial investment in highways.
Saskatchewan is being looked at to produce more. Two of the world’s largest agricultural producers are at war, putting pressure on other countries, like Canada, to meet the world’s needs. We know potash producers are ramping up production to meet the needs of agricultural producers. Oil and gas production is also affected by the conflict and Saskatchewan is already seeing greater interest in drilling here with the April auction for drilling rights bringing in 10 times the revenue generated in last year’s April auction.
There is a plan for highways and it hasn’t been forgotten by the province. The budget once again references the Saskatchewan government’s 10-year Growth Plan, which came out in late 2019 to cover the decade between 2020 and 2030. The goals listed for highways in that 10-year plan are to build and upgrade 10,000 kilometres of highways, among other work.
During the 2020 construction season, more than 1,030 km of improvements were made. During the second year in the growth plan, more than 1,350 km of improvements were made. (In the 2021 Fall Tender Plan, there was $157.3 million in new highways projects. The 2021 Spring Tender schedule had new projects with an estimated value of $85.4 million.)
With nothing new this year, that means during the remaining six years in the plan, the provincial government has to average near 1,300 km a year to meet that target. I know, as an industry, you have the capacity to do that work, but it remains to be seen if that level of investment will occur.
The uncertainty and inconsistency burdens our industry. I hear how it makes it hard for you to know how to prepare for your futures when, from one year to the next, the amount of capital investment can swing up and down by tens of millions of dollars. The Saskatchewan government announced $846 million for the Ministry of Highways for 2022–23. This includes a capital investment of $452.5 million, which is nearly $70 million down from last year.
This inconsistency affects your ability create jobs and retain employees in the industry. It makes decisions about investing in equipment difficult. That is a message I will continue to bring to government.
We have a commitment from the province that we can deliver this message so it is heard by the treasury board. I look forward to that opportunity and will continue to keep you informed about how we proceed from the disappointment that was this year’s provincial budget.
“Any time you hit a line, your company’s reputation is pulled through the mud.”
Watch this video from the Saskatchewan Common Ground Alliance to hear how challenging it is to deal with an underground contact, and how it harms your business and reputation.
Southeast College’s heavy equipment operator course is a unique 12-week program that increases seat time in both simulation and hand-on training equipment. The course is centrally located in Saskatchewan, taking place in Estevan.
Graduates have the knowledge and skills needed to start an entry level career in various aspects of the heavy equipment industry.
Download the program information sheet to learn more.
Another successful year of pavement marking has concluded for crews at the Ministry of Highways.
“In 2021–22, the Government of Saskatchewan invested $9.3 million in pavement markings,” said Highways Minister Fred Bradshaw. “This important safety investment provides clear direction for Saskatchewan’s motorists, which helps decrease collisions.”
The reflective pavement marking assists drivers when it’s dark and in poor weather conditions. Between May and December, the crews repainted nearly 21,000 kilometres of centre lines and more than 38,500 kilometres of edge lines on Saskatchewan highways. If all those lines were placed end-to-end, they would be more than long enough to circle the earth.
More than 33,000 pavement signs, including arrows, medians, railroad crossings, bridge markers and crosswalks were also painted this past season.
In total, crews applied more than 1.2 million litres of paint on Saskatchewan highways.
The Ministry of Highways uses waterborne or low VOC paint on 70 per cent of centre lines and 90 per cent of shoulder lines. In addition, 1,900 drums of glass beads are added to that paint, which enhances durability and improves visibility at night.
The Government of Saskatchewan is improving more than 1,350 km of provincial highways this year, the second of its 10-year Growth Plan goal to build and upgrade 10,000 km of highways. With this year’s projects, the province is ahead of the pace needed to meet this target. Another $300 million in highways stimulus funds is being invested over several years in thin-membrane surface upgrades, passing lanes and improvements to municipal roads and airports.
The Government of Saskatchewan has invested more than $10.6 billion in highways infrastructure since 2008, improving more than 17,100 km of Saskatchewan highways.
This is the time of year when truckers and shippers must begin reducing loads on secondary highways in Saskatchewan. All secondary highways return to regulation weights, which will help prevent damage to these roads this spring.
“At various times of the year, weight restrictions are put in place on some highways as a measure to prevent damage to the surface and roadbeds,” said Highways Minister Fred Bradshaw. “As the warmer weather rolls in, some roads can become susceptible to soft spots and surface cracks.”
During the coldest months of December, January and February, roadbeds freeze and become stronger, and subsequently supports heavier truck loads.
When the mild temperatures arrive, winter weights are removed. Effective at 12:01 a.m., Tuesday, March 15, any existing winter weights reverted to regulation weight.
Spring road restrictions are used by the province and rural municipalities (RM) to mitigate damage to infrastructure. Typically, these road restrictions start in March in the southwest and move in an east and northern direction. These restrictions remain in place for approximately six weeks, or 42 days.
The road bans reduce allowable weights on RM roads and secondary weight provincial highways by 10 to 15 per cent and typically last about six weeks.
Saskatchewan is unique because of its nine-month primary weight highways. As a large province with considerable difference in climate in the north and the south, there are different dates for when nine-month primary weights are in effect.
In the north of the province, the annual weight increase on the nine-month primary highways is from July 1 to March 31 of the following year. In the south of the province, the annual weight increase on the nine-month primary highways will occur earlier, from June 15 to March 15 of the following year. This helps sustain road conditions in the south, where spring thaw occurs earlier.
To check which highways are impacted by weight restrictions, please visit truck weight classifications and restrictions at saskatchewan.ca/trucking. Spring road bans will be posted as necessary under the “New Spring Order” link.
To view the interactive map showing winter weight restrictions and spring road bans, please visit www.saskatchewan.ca/highwayhotline and scroll down to restrictions. Information is also available by contacting the Highway Hotline at 511.
The SHCA Annual Convention is taking place April 7–8, 2022 at the Delta Hotels Bessborough in Saskatoon.
SHCA has secured a special room rate of $154 per night at the Delta Hotels Bessborough; book your room now if you have not already done so.
Sponsorships are still available – contact Jennie Avram for more information.
Book your group rate for the annual Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association Convention.
Who else is ready to get together to talk business as well as socialize with others in our industry?
If your answer is yes, I can tell you that you are not alone and that feeling is being felt across Western Canada.
From what those with the Western Canadian Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association (WCR&HCA) are hearing, there is an appetite for a conference. There is enthusiasm from those who have attended their conferences in the past to attend such an event again. Plus, past sponsors share that they too are ready to support a conference.
With that kind of feedback, a decision was made by the WCR&HCA board in early November that planning for an early 2023 conference in Waikiki, Hawaii should proceed.
The last time the WCR&HCA held a conference was in 2017. As you know, a lot has changed since then and this conference is a good opportunity for members from our industry across the four western provinces to meet and discuss what is important.
The Western Canada Trade Gateways & Corridors Initiative is one such matter. Simply put, Canada’s economy depends on trade, which requires infrastructure to move goods. The WCR&HCA is calling for the federal government to increase its funding of infrastructure that enables trade.
The investment would be worth it. This initiative is looking at the future and the needs that must be met in order to seize opportunity.
Canada must diversify its trade markets to become less reliant on the U.S. The middle class in Asia is growing at a pace that will be beyond the ability of its economy to support, but the same growth is not expected of the U.S.
Canada should be ready to trade with those countries that want what Western Canada has to offer in the quantities they will require. But to do so requires scaling up Canada’s infrastructure, particularly in the West. This includes marine, road, rail and air in the gateways and trade corridors that will allow us to move freight and people that are significant to trade with Asia, but will also boost trade here in Canada as well as across the North American continent.
The WCR&HCA is working with federal and regional partners – including the Canadian Construction Association, Business Council of Canada, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters and the Canada West Foundation – to promote the Western Canada Trade Gateways & Corridors Initiative. They are pressing the federal government to substantially increase investment within the National Trade Corridors Fund, which in 2021’s budget was $1.9 billion.
However, the WCR&HCA states that at least $10 billion needs to be contributed by the federal government if western provinces are to see regional corridors in this part of the country strengthened in order to seize on this trade opportunity. And it’s not just the federal government who is being encouraged to invest. The initiative goes beyond the feds to motivate private investment in Western Canada’s infrastructure as well.
While planning for the conference is still underway, given the importance of this initiative and the consistent activity by the WCR&HCA around it, it is hard to imagine it not being a vital part of the conversations that take place during their event.
For this reason, and many more, I hope you are among those pleased to learn that this conference has been approved in principle. It’s important for those of us in this industry to gather together to talk about the business, but to also find time to enjoy one another’s company. Here’s to this event going ahead in 2023!