'A better road to travel': Widespread highway improvement planned for 2022

Construction on Saskatchewan highways (Cole Davenport / CTV Regina)

With the construction season in Saskatchewan getting underway; the provincial government laid out its plans to improve approximately 1,100 km of provincial highways in 2022.

This would bring the three year total of improved roadways to 3,500 km, according to a release from the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure.

Highways slated for paving improvements this season include:

• Highway 1, West of Moose Jaw (13 km)
• Highway 4, North of North Battleford (12 km)
• Highway 5, West of Humboldt (17 km)
• Highway 6, South of Naicam (8 km)
• Highway 11, North of Kenaston (8 km)
• Highway 21, South of Kindersley (10 km)

In addition, the ministry announced that 14 sets of passing lanes would be constructed for Highways 5, 7, 12 and 16.

These improvements are on top of the twinning project for Highway 3, west of Prince Albert.

Besides general maintenance and paving, the Ministry of Highways also noted in its release that servicing roadways to provincial parks would be a priority for this construction season.

Specific roadways mentioned were:

• Highway 26 to Meadow Lake Provincial Park
• Highway 38 to Greenwater Provincial Park
• Highway 204 access to Battlefords Provincial Park

With Saskatchewan’s highways set to be busy this May long weekend, Highways Minister Fred Bradshaw asked the public to be vigilant and slow down to 60 km/h when passing through construction zones.

“The Ministry of Highways has hard-working crews all over the province making improvements to our road network," he said in the release.

"We want to ensure each of them gets home safely every night. We also want drivers to understand that traffic slowdowns are temporary, and they'll soon have a better road to travel after construction is over."

To learn more about this year's highway improvement projects, the government advises the public to visit its website.