$32.7 million fuels infrastructure upgrades in Saskatchewan’s northeast

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways has committed over $32.7 million to infrastructure projects and maintenance initiatives in east-central Saskatchewan.

These investments are part of a broader effort to enhance the province’s road network and improve transportation efficiency in key regions, with several projects already underway or nearing completion.

Significant work is ongoing in the northeastern part of the province at Burntout Creek on Highway 23, south of Arborfield. A $950,000 bridge replacement project will conclude in December 2024.

Further improvements are underway along Highway 38, where a $3.1 million project is repaving more than 16 kilometres from north of Kelvington to Greenwater Provincial Park. This project began in August 2024 and was completed in September of the same year. Additionally, a bridge replacement on Highway 980 over Mink Creek, near the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border, which cost $840,000was completed in October 2024.

Other recent upgrades include a $1.3 million seal coating project on 18 kilometres of Highway 35 south of Archerwill, completed in June 2024. Similarly, $1.7 million in seal coating work on Highway 9, north of Usherville, was finished in July 2024.

As part of this initiative, $21 million will go towards repaving over 40 kilometres of highways across the region. The extensive project covers:

• 27.59 kilometres of Highway 55, east of Nipawin
• A culvert replacement on Highway 55, east of Nipawin
• 9.73 kilometres of Highway 23, north of Carrot River
• 2.68 kilometres of Highway 3, also known as Birch Road

This ongoing project began in May 2024 and is expected to be completed by December 2024.

The Ministry of Highways also allocated an estimated $3.9 million in 2024 toward routine maintenance activities across various regions, including Nipawin, Tisdale, Melfort, Greenwater Lake Provincial Park, and extending east to the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border. This ongoing maintenance, which took place from spring to fall, involved a range of tasks typically completed within a day or two. These included road surface patching, crack sealing, spot sealing, dust treatment, gravel blading, seal coating, guardrail repairs, ditch mowing, and culvert maintenance.

Further details about upcoming projects across the province will be available later this winter.

This story was originally published in the Humboldt Journal. It is republished under a Creative Commons license as part of the Local Journalism Initiative.