Released on July 17, 2014
Weekly Construction Update
Traffic is once again flowing on the Yellowhead Highway near Elfros after crews moved 400 truckloads of earth to repair the flood-damaged highway.
The road was closed on June 30 after several days of heavy rain caused a culvert to wash out.
“Engineers were onsite assessing the situation as soon as the road was closed, and the contractor crew put in long days to ensure this repair was done as quickly as possible,” Highways and Infrastructure Minister Nancy Heppner said. “The speed of the repairs is especially remarkable when you consider the embankment is 10 metres high and required 10,000 tonnes of material to fill.”
The affected section of Highway 16 carries nearly 2,500 vehicles per day. During the closure, traffic was accommodated on a detour using Highways 6, 5 and 35.
New or resuming work underway in the province this week includes a $9 million paving project on Highway 39 near Macoun, $8.2 million in repaving and intersection improvements on Highways 46 and 364 between Regina and Balgonie, and a pair of grading and paving projects on Highway 51 between Kerrobert and Major for a total of $8.4 million.
The weekly construction update provides Saskatchewan residents with the latest details on current projects to help plan safe and efficient travel throughout the summer and fall.
To learn more about Saskatchewan work zones, head to www.highways.gov.sk.ca/workzone/. Always slow to 60 km/hr when passing through a highway work zone.
Additional travel information about emergency road closures, the status of ferries and barges and other road activities can also be found on the Highway Hotline at www.saskatchewan.ca/live/transportation/highway-hotline. It is also available by calling 306-787-7623 in Regina, 306-933-8333 in Saskatoon, the SaskTel cellular network at *ROAD, and toll-free across Canada at 1-888-335-7623.
The government has invested a record $4.3 billion in transportation infrastructure since 2008.
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For more information, contact:
Joel Cherry
Highways and Infrastructure
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4805