Tenders will be released in the coming months for grading work on the Estevan truck bypass that will divert most of the commercial traffic travelling through Estevan. The call for tenders on the local project was listed with the province's spring 2013 tender release, which involved several other projects from across Saskatchewan. The release noted the bypass will stretch for about 13 kilometres, and roughly 818,000 cubic metres will be excavated. The bypass will go from Shand Road, east of the city, heading north of the Energy City and connecting back with Highway 39 west of Estevan. Preconstruction work is nearly complete, including detailed design, utility moves and land acquisition, and construction on the bypass is hoped to commence this year. After a three-year construction period, that would place the opening of the route some time in 2016. Kirsten Leatherdale of the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure noted the construction schedule is ultimately up to the contractor, but once tenders are awarded, she said, the ministry likes work to sooner rather than later. "That is always dependent on the contractor who gets awarded the contract. That will be negotiated in a preconstruction meeting. The start time would be dependent on weather, flooding, things that we don't have control over as well as the contractor's other commitments. Ideally, we always at the ministry want to start a project as soon as we possibly can after the contractor is awarded the project."The truck route is expected to cost about $44 million, with $17 million of that coming from the federal government through the Building Canada Fund. Talks with impacted landowners about land purchasing is still ongoing, but Leatherdale said they are nearing completion. "Most of it is done, but we still are working on some land acquisition. There's not much more detail I can give on that because it's a private negotiation with landowners," said Leatherdale. The release also said the ministry, City of Estevan and RM of Estevan have recently met with the consultant, who is looking at the possible long-term intersection requirements. The route will initially be constructed as a two-lane road, but the ministry noted the plan for the bypass has been developed to allow for the twinning as well as interchanges at the east and west ends, and at the junction of Highway 47. Those potential changes may be necessary with higher traffic volumes. An open house outlining those potential additions will be held some time this summer, and Leatherdale said the ministry doesn't have much to say about the subject prior to that public forum. Traffic volumes and projected traffic volumes will be presented at the open house, but she said at this point, the consultant may not have that information prepared. "The purpose of the open house is to have that dialogue and have people come and look at the information and be able to talk with our staff and the consultant," said Leatherdale. "This is for future intersection requirements, so this isn't anything that's going to affect the construction of the two-lane road."
