Anyone who has tried to turn left onto the Trans-Canada Highway from White City, Sask. knows how nerve-wracking it can be. But, new on and off-ramps will help make the intersection at Highway 48 safer.
Drivers will be able to enter the flow of eastbound traffic at full speed, and there will be better sight lines for anyone turning left onto Highway 1. They are not overpasses, but White City’s mayor Bruce Evans said the ramps are a ‘good first step’.
“The key is that we have to be able to take measures that are affordable in the short term, like what you see here, in order to mitigate as much as possible the dangers until such time as we can get the big projects done,” Evans said.
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The next project along that stretch of highway is an exit ramp at Balgonie, which could be completed as soon as the fall of 2012.
Between 2007 and 2011, there were 90 collisions on Highway 1 between Regina and Balgonie. Four people died and 55 were injured. To reduce the number of collisions, a committee is analyzing which intersections should have overpasses.
“Major clover leafs at every intersection from here to the Manitoba border would ensure safety,” Highways Minister Don McMorris said. “That’s not realistic, but what we are doing is taking steps. This is the first step of hopefully many into the future.”
There has not been any money allocated for clover leafs, and so far there is no timeline for when construction could begin. McMorris said the Ministry continues to watch the traffic counts in the area.
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