REGINA – A longer than normal winter in Saskatchewan has put highway construction crews back about two to three weeks, and now they are playing catch up.
“Doing a construction kick off on May 16th is not necessarily what we had wanted to do, but weather dictates a lot of what we get to do,” said highways minister Don McMorris.
Construction signs are staring to pop up. On Thursday McMorris announced how the province plans to spend $576 million in building and maintaining Saskatchewan’s highways.
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They include:
- The final 13 km of twinning on Highway 11 between Saskatoon and Prince Albert at Macdowall.
- Continuing construction on the West Regina Bypass from Dewdney Avenue to Highway 1.
- New passing lanes between Balgonie and Fort Qu’Appelle.
- Rebuilding the highway from the roadbed up on Highway 22 from Southey to Earl Grey, which was named Saskatchewan’s worst highway in 2012.
- Estevan Truck Route from Highway 39 and Shand Road to Highway 39 west of the city.
All the work that needs to be done means lots of construction crews will be out. Shantel Lipp, the president of Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association said it is important for drivers to slow down in construction zones.
“It doesn’t just impact those that are injured, or killed; it can impact their families, the crews the contractors,” she explained. “It’s pretty far reaching.”
Fines in construction zones are now tripled. Drivers must slow to 60 km/h.
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