The first of three phases of the Highway 7 twinning project west of Saskatoon is now open to drivers.
The twinning of nine kilometres of the highway from Saskatoon to just east of Vanscoy opened to traffic on Thursday afternoon.
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It was originally scheduled to open in time for the Thanksgiving weekend, but construction was delayed last week due to a snowstorm.
Daily traffic on the key route has almost doubled in the past decade.
“The community wanted this for awhile. We’ve had an increase of traffic from 5,000 to almost 9,100 vehicles going down this highway,” said Sask. Party MLA Paul Merriman.
“This twinning project and the new passing lanes completed on Highway 7 between Delisle and Rosetown last year will help enhance safety and improve the flow of traffic.”
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Crews continue pre-construction work on the next two phases of the 25 kilometre project, which includes design, environmental assessment and land acquisition.