The City of Yorkton will be looking after some additional pavement in the future.
"Provincial Legislation dictates that Saskatchewan municipalities with 1,000 or more people have legal responsibility for all roadways including provincial highways within their boundaries," explained a report by Trent Mandzuk, Director of Public Works at the regular meeting of Yorkton Council Monday. "This legislation has been loosely enforced, resulting in Saskatchewan's Department of Highways caring for most of these roadways throughout the province."
Mandzuk said the province has recognized municipalities will face challenges in taking over the roads.
"To help resolve this issue and to promote a more consistent practice for municipalities the Ministry has developed the Urban Highway Connector Program (UHCP)," stated the report.
As a result, "The Province will partner with municipalities for the construction of major improvements and maintenance of urban connectors; roadways inside a municipal city's jurisdiction connecting two provincial highways The program will offer funding to municipalities for upgrades to urban connectors and for financial support with long-term maintenance of these roadways."
In terms of Yorkton Mandzuk said, the biggest impact will be on maintenance of the roads including Hwy 10 West from Broadway to Queen Street.
"Funding provided for maintenance operations by the Ministry is comparable to the City of Yorkton's maintenance costs. Grants provided will be reviewed every two years to ensure grants reflect increases to maintenance costs," stated the report.
