The new truck route north of Estevan should be in use this year.
Paving of the 18 km bypass started in late spring, after the grading was completed. Joel Cherry from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure told the Mercury on Monday morning they are on pace to have everything completed by late fall, as long as
there aren’t any major weather events to delay the project.
“The paving work is on schedule at this point,” he said.
The truck route’s west access point will be two kilometres northwest of the Rafferty Dam access road. The route will run north of the city, intersect Highway 47 and Kensington Avenue, and continue until its east access point at the Shand Access Road.
“I know that with the way the truck bypass is built, it’s set up so that on the east side of the city, it’s going to connect to the new twinned highway that we also have planned,” said Cherry.
Grading was supposed to be finished last year, but due to the above normal precipitation levels last spring and summer, there was some lingering grading work this year. It wrapped up in early June.
“This year the weather has cooperated, and generally paving is less sensitive to weather than grading,” said Cherry.
Cherry said highway construction projects can continue until just before the first snowfall.
Once the asphalt has been applied, there will be clean up work that has to happen before the truck route can open. They will also have to paint the lines on the bypass.
Cherry urged motorists to exercise caution when travelling through construction areas, and when passing highway crews and equipment.
The truck route is being built to a high standard, Cherry said, which will allow it to sustain the heavy truck traffic that will be using the route on a daily basis.
“It’s going to be a primary weight road,” said Cherry. “It’s going to be built to a standard to accommodate the heaviest legal weights on Saskatchewan highways.”
It’s also a vital stretch of highway, he said, since it’s part of the Central North American Trade Corridor that runs through much of Saskatchewan and into North Dakota.
The provincial and federal governments announced in 2009 they would be cost-sharing the expense of the project. It has since endured a number of hurdles and delays. There was considerable debate on where the west access point would be located, and the land acquisition was slowed when local landowners felt they received lowball offers from the provincial government.
Construction on the truck bypass started in 2013. Once it’s completed, it’s expected the vast majority of the heavy trucks currently passing through Estevan will be rerouted north of the city.
The City of Estevan hopes to complete the resurfacing of Sixth Street from 13th Avenue to Souris Avenue South, and Souris Avenue South from Sixth Street to Fourth Street, at the same time the current inner city truck route is finished.
