Road through wheat fields
by Shelby Piel Shelby Piel

Increased Funding for Rural Road Infrastructure a Boost for Saskatchewan’s Rural Municipalities

Road through wheat fields
rcphoto/123rf

As inflation continues to affect the cost of maintaining infrastructure, the need to address the condition of rural roads in Saskatchewan has become increasingly pressing.

These roads form the backbone of the province’s vast agricultural and industrial economy, enabling the movement of goods, services and people across rural areas. Deterioration of rural transportation infrastructure not only impacts local travel, but has far-reaching and devastating implications for Saskatchewan’s economy.

In response to these challenges, the Rural Integrated Roads for Growth (RIRG) Program Management Board, which is made up of members from both the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) and the Ministry of Highways, has taken significant steps to support rural municipalities (RMs) by increasing funding for rural road maintenance during the 2024-2025 fiscal year, and have introduced several updates to enhance the RIRG program. Municipalities can apply to access RIRG funding through three distinct sub-programs: The Road Construction Program, Bridge and Large Diameter Culvert Construction Program, and the Clearing the Path (CTP) Program. Each of these programs is tailored to address specific infrastructure needs.

The Road Construction Program along with the Bridge and Large Diameter Culvert Program are ways that RMs can access funding to upgrade or replace their current infrastructure. These programs not only improve safety and efficiency for rural residents, but support local industries by facilitating the movement of agricultural and industrial products.

When a road project qualifies and is accepted into the Road Construction Program, the RM can receive up to $500,000 for eligible costs with a 50 per cent assistance rate from RIRG. RMs can choose from several road project types including, earthworks and grading, clay capping, base and subbase, and surface strengthening on any road that is a CTP corridor or has a rural road class of 3, 4,or 5. The Bridge and Large Diameter Culvert Program has undergone some significant and exciting changes. After hearing feedback from members on the significant increases to the cost of building rural bridges, the funding cap for bridge projects has doubled; RMs can now receive up to $1 million with a 50 per cent assistance rate. The next intake for these programs will take place this fall, with approvals scheduled for January 2026.

These programs not only improve safety and efficiency for rural residents, but also support local industries by facilitating the movement of agricultural and industrial products.

The CTP Program provides incremental maintenance funding to assist with the cost of maintaining roads to carry primary weights. The purpose of the program is to connect and move Saskatchewan’s commodities and industry at primary weights, creating a seamless network throughout the province.

The network aims to be dynamic and not permanent so that if economic activity is slowing down in one area and increasing in another, funding may be moved to an area with more economic activity. To be eligible, roads must meet criteria such as, minimum truck traffic counts, proximity to economic generators and a minimum proximity of the roadway to other primary weight roads. If an RM applies for an eligible CTP corridor and agrees to maintain the road to carry primary weights, they can receive funding each year to assist with maintenance costs.

After hearing from SARM members and studying the impact of inflation on maintaining these roads, RIRG has also increased the funding for CTP corridors by $300 per kilometre. RMs can now receive $1,300 per kilometre for a standard corridor and $1,500 per kilometre for a premium CTP corridor annually. Standard corridors have an average daily truck traffic greater than 10 trucks per day, while premium corridors have an average daily truck traffic greater than 35 trucks per day. An RM can apply for a new CTP corridor at any time on SARM’s website, with formal application reviews occurring annually at the start of each calendar year.

In other exciting news, the RIRG program, which is governed by an agreement between SARM and the Ministry of Highways, was recently extended for five years, until March 31, 2029. This extension signals a strong commitment from both the provincial government and SARM to long-term investment in rural infrastructure, and can provide municipalities with the confidence and stability they need to plan and execute infrastructure projects with greater certainty.

We strongly encourage all RMs to take full advantage of these renewed opportunities. The tools are in place, the funding is available and the support is ongoing. For detailed information on program eligibility, application processes and program timelines, municipalities are encouraged to review the RIRG Policy Manual available on SARM’s website (sarm.ca).

by SHCA SHCA

Driving Our Roads into the Ground: SARM Calls for More Funding to Aid in Disintegrating Roads and Bridges

The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) has called for increased funding for rural roads and bridges. These pieces of infrastructure are not only the lifeline for thousands of municipal residents who travel them daily, they also help drive our rural economy by supporting oil and gas, agriculture, mining and other natural resource sectors. Without further aid, the roads and bridges in rural Saskatchewan will continue to deteriorate with significant economic and social consequences.

SARM

Rural municipalities (RMs) in the province are responsible for 164,000 kilometres of roads, Canada’s largest road network. Roads in the province connect our rural population to urban centres, transport essential supplies, export goods and more. These busy roads require regular upkeep, maintenance and ongoing building and re-building. In addition, RMs are responsible for 1,280 bridge structures. Unfortunately, years of use have led to 60 per cent of rural bridges at or beyond their expected service lifespan and needing replacement to avoid safety hazards or disrupting the transportation of goods.

“The Rural Integrated Roads for Growth (RIRG) program provides funding for RMs to support rural road construction, bridge construction, culvert installation and maintaining eligible roads at primary weights. The RIRG program is funded by the Ministry of Highways, administered by SARM, and right now every RM has a laundry list of roads and bridges that are in serious need of repair or rebuild,” said Bill Huber, acting president of SARM.

The cost of building a bridge per square foot increased by 36 per cent between 2010 and 2020 and another 25 per cent between 2020 and 2022. Road construction costs have also increased, resulting in a sharp rise in project withdrawals, deeply impacting RMs. Funding for the RIRG program has steadily decreased over the years from $25M in 2009-2014 to $15M from 2015-2023. While SARM was pleased to see a modest increase in funding in the 2024/2025 program year (to $17.4M), funding for this essential program continues to lag behind the great infrastructure needs among the RMs.

“Government’s infrastructure spending must keep up with inflation. The civil construction industry needs and has been asking for a long-term, serious commitment to build and maintain our provincial road network. The industry continues to see increased expenses in escalating costs for fuel, materials and labour, while the base spending on infrastructure capital remains relatively unchanged. Inflationary costs reflected in bid pricing that isn’t adequately addressed through realistic infrastructure funding leads to less projects tendered, which creates further financial uncertainty for the industry, it becomes a vicious circle,” said Shantel Lipp, president of the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association.

The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan in the City of Regina. Regina is the provincial capital of Saskatchewan, Canada.
by SHCA SHCA

Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba Continue Collaboration on the Joint Memorandum of Understanding

Ministers for highways and transportation in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba met on July 4 in Saskatoon to continue work to strengthen economic corridors that support Canada’s supply chains. It has been a year since a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the three provinces.

The MOU commits the partners to jointly working to improve our shared transportation system, to ensure the strength and competitiveness of the Prairie provinces.

Over the past year, the focus has been on regulatory harmonization, advocacy and regional planning. These priorities will continue with additional work on improving multi-modal transport infrastructure for the efficient movement of exports and imports.

The provinces are working on co-ordinated improvements that benefit the entire region, and they link producers more efficiently to markets across the globe. They are creating a prairie regional economic corridor to guide strategic investments in transportation. 

“By keeping the momentum of the Prairies MOU going, we can continue to improve western economic corridors that will enable the efficient movement of Prairie exports and imports to and from markets around the world,” Alberta Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors Devin Dreeshen said.

“For Saskatchewan people, improving transportation efficiency with initiatives like these supports our strong and growing export-based economy,” Saskatchewan Highways Minister Lori Carr said. “A strategic approach helps the province invest in key services and helps build and protect our quality of life.”

Saskatchewan has achieved its Growth Plan pledge to increase exports by 50 per cent. The province continues to expand export infrastructure to increase the mobility of Saskatchewan’s products to international markets over the next decade. Exports support a vibrant business community and ensure an improving quality of life for Saskatchewan people.

Seventy per cent of Saskatchewan’s economy is dependent on exports. In 2023, Saskatchewan exported $49.3 billion in goods. Saskatchewan goods reached 163 countries, with 32 of those countries receiving over $100 million in provincial exports.