SASK
HIGHWAY AND INFRASTRUCTURE:
CONNECTING SASKATHEWAN TO THE WORLD
challenges in terms of providing road, rail, water and electricity links to areas far from city centers. However, Canada’s companies not only address the challenge but thrive on it. Rarely do we hear the words ‘creaking infrastructure’ and ‘Canada’ in the same breath. One such company responsible for this ongoing success is SASK Highway and Infrastructure - responsible for the roads and infrastructure in the Canadian Province of Saskatchewan.
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It is sometimes forgotten that Canada is the world’s second largest country by landmass at just under 10,000 square kilometers. With a relatively small population of 35 million people, this means that Canada is also one of the world’s least densely population; in fact, just 15 countries in the world are less densely populated than Canada at 9.43 people per square mile.
The goals of SASK Highway and Infrastructure are to support trade and investment, increase transportation safety, enhance quality of life and efficiently manage the transportation system. Saskatchewan experiences extremes of heat, with spreads of over 40 degrees in a year. This complicates the role of SASK. Saskatechwan also poses a unique challenge in that Thin Membrane Surface roads were constructed in rural areas of the province in the 1960s and 1970s to provide a dust-free alternative to gravel roads, and these become vulnerable in wet weather or heavy traffic. In all, SASK maintains more than 5,000kkm of TMS highways in the province.
Sparsely populated territories can create
In all, SASK Highways and Infrastructure
provides maintenance of Saskatchewan’s 26,288km of highways, 785 bridges, 400 large culverts, 12 ferries and 17 northern airports. It also has approximately 2,000km of railways under provincial jurisdiction and operates a communications branch for the public, where it keeps them updated; in a province that faces the weather challenges outlined in the previous section, keeping everyoe abreast of weather and how it is affecting infrastruture is essential for safety and planning.
ASK
In 2016, SASK Highways and Infrastructure reached a new landmark: for the first time in its history, it announced that it would be investing in excess of $1 billion. Highways and Infrastructure Minister Nancy Heppner said: ““Saskatchewan drivers can expect to see work on projects in virtually every corner of the province. This year’s plan includes major projects, in addition to much-needed repairs to many of our rural highways that will keep our growing economy strong.”
Local Partners Managing the infrastructure of a geographic area the size of Saskatchewan is made considerably easier for SASK by having a plethora of excellent local service providers to
call on. Very rare, if ever, does it need to call on services from outside Canada and more often than not, it finds the contractors it needs inside the province’s own borders. To provide just a sample of some of the firms that SASK works with; Associated Engineering helped in putting together the Yorkton Transportation Study; the Martensville and Warman Overpasses – should they go ahead – will all call on the civil engineering services of Peter Kiewit Infrastructure, McElhanney Engineering and ISL Engineering. Project management is carried out by a host of companies, among them the MMM Group, which is currently working on the Regina Bypass, and Aecom, which is working with SASK on the Estevan Truck Bypass.
Aggregate Productions – Asphalt Paving – Concrete Highway Construction – Major Excavations Site Development – Underground Utilities Installation Unit 7 - 3111 Millar Ave. Saskatoon, SK S7K 6N3 306-653-2711
Box 545 Russell, MB R0J 1W0 204-773-2586
1880 Winnipeg St. Regina, SK S4P 3C2 306-949-0399
Aggregate Productions – Asphalt Paving Concrete Highway Construction – Major Excavations Site Development – Underground Utilities Installation Unit 7 – 3111 Millar Ave. Saskatoon, SK S7K 6N3 306-653-2711
Box 545 Russell, MB R0J 1W0 204-773-2586
1880 Winnipeg St. Regina, SK S4P 3C2 306-949-0399
Operating for the People of Saskatechwan The number of public programs that SASK operates are testament to its commitment to deliver for the people of Saskatchewan. For example, the Adopt a Highway Program allows interested parties to help beautify Saskatchewan rightof-ways by picking up litter and trash from designated sections of the provincial highways. To cater for these individuals, SASK directs special incentives and road safety measures for the people to carry out the work in safety. SASK also runs open house initiatives before projects begin, so that all stakeholders can have their say in upcoming transport infrastructure in their area. These occur on a regular basis, the latest taking place on November 14th for the Martensville and Warman Overpasses. All stakeholders are encouraged to attend and the SASK representation usually includes
contractors involved on the project in question and employees from the Ministry of Highways and Inftrastructure itself. Because of the scale of Saskatchewan, many remote areas operate small community airports. SASK is committed to helping these airports through its Community Airports Program (CAP). Since the program began in 2007, the Saskatchewan government has invested $5.7 million in 36 different community airports scattered around the province. Eligible airports are those that support economic development, general access to surrounding communities, air ambulance and medivac operations, commercial operations and aviation safety.
2017 and beyond As well as continuous maintenance on existing roads and highways, SASK is currently working on multi-year construction projects whose aim is to improve safety and efficiency on Saskatchewan’s highway network. This
list of projects includes the Regina Bypass, Highway 6 and 39 Planning, the Estevan Truck Bypass, the twinning of Highway 7, the twinning of Highway 16, and the Warman and Martensville Overpasses. A range of planning studies whose aim is to identify current and future traffic needs are also ongoing. They give some indication as to the future direction of the roads and infrastructure in the province. Among those currently under considation are Highway 11/12 Corridor, the Highway 305 Design Project, the Shellbrook In-Service safety review, the Sasksatoon West Connector Route and the Yorkton Regional Transportation Study. Like a straight road on one of Saskatchewan’s plains, the worklist of SASK can seem endless but it keeps going – continuing on its goal of connecting Saskatchewan to the world.
SASK HIGHWAYS AND INFRASTRUCTURE Head Office 1855 Victoria Avenue Regina, SK S4P 3T2 Canada Phone (306) 787-4800 Fax(306) 787-9777 http://www.highways.gov.sk.ca/
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