The long awaited decision regarding which route Highway 41 will take through Melfort has finally been reached.
At a news conference in Melfort at the Heritage Inn, Grant Hodgins, the highways minister stated that Highway #41 would be constructed along an existing east-west municipal road to join at the junction of Highways #3 and #6 on the south side of Melfort.
Highway 41A would be constructed in a northeasterly direction from Highway 41 to connect with Highway 3 on the west side of Melfort."
For communities east of Melfort, Highway #41 running on the south side of the city of Melfort instead of through it has to be welcome news. In the past mayors from centres such as Tisdale and Porcupine Plain have supported this route as it bypasses the city of Melfort itself, thus speeding traffic flow. One of the main considerations in the decision of going with this route was the advantages for emergency vehicles. This has long been a concern for this area.
To appease the concerns of Melfort, Highway #41A will be built.
“Highway #41A would serve as a direct route to the west side of Melfort and it would also be designated and signed as the Melfort business loop,” Hodgins said
Hodgins admitted that initially the construction of two highways will be more costly, future savings to road users from shorter travel distance and traffic will offset the additional expenditures.
Arnold Orr, Melfort’s mayor, stated that while this proposal is not the one he had wished for it was the one he expected and that it was one he could live with. Orr hoped now that the decision was finally made that further delays could be avoided and that the highway would be built immediately.
Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation will now submit an Environmental Impact Statement, which includes route recommendations. After the report is reviewed by Saskatchewan Environment, it will be available to the public. Subject to Saskatchewan Environment’s approval the new highway is tentatively scheduled for construction in 1988.
