When the daylight hours become longer and warmer weather rolls in, construction equipment rolls out onto Saskatchewan highways. The Government of Saskatchewan is reminding travellers to keep an eye out for highway construction zones across the province.
“The Ministry of Highways has crews working all over the province making improvements to our transportation network,” said Highways Minister Jeremy Cockrill. “Let’s keep them safe, so everyone gets home safe at night. We have lots of work going on and these slowdowns are only temporary.”
Some major construction projects will continue or be completed to improve safety and traffic flow, including:
- Continuing passing lanes and widening on Highway 5 from Saskatoon to Highway 2;
- Beginning construction of twinning projects near Rowatt and Corinne on Highways 6 and 39 between Regina and Weyburn; and
- Beginning upgrades on Highway 15 east of Kenaston between Highways 11 and 2
“Provincial road builders employ close to 30,000 workers, making our industry one of the largest employers in the province, and they are working to build Saskatchewan,” said Shantel Lipp, Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association president. “We want to remind drivers to be patient and drive with caution while our builders go to work on the roads this season. This will help ensure their safety as well as yours.”
“Our members are pleased to work with our partners at the Ministry of Highways to make strategic improvements to the transportation network,” said Bev MacLeod, executive director of the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies – Saskatchewan. “These improvements will make the highway system better and safer for all the people of Saskatchewan.”
There are plans to improve another 1,000 km of highways, for a total of more than 4,600 km of highways improved over the last four years. Improvements this year include:
- 230 km of repaving;
- 300 km of medium treatments, like micro surfacing;
- 340 km of pavement sealing;
- 115 km of thin membrane surface (TMS) and rural highway upgrades; and
- 35 km of gravel rehabilitation.
Highways will also invest $62.8 million to repair or rebuild 14 bridges and replace more than 100 culverts across the province. Significant bridge projects include
replacing the Montreal River Bridge on Highway 2 near Weyakwin and
rehabilitating the Highway 6 bridge over Regina’s Ring Road for traffic heading north into the city.