(Charlene Tebbutt/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

local highways

Highway 3 resurfacing project welcomed

Mar 12, 2019 | 3:52 PM

The acting reeve of the R.M. of Prince Albert welcomed news of repaving on sections of HIghway 3 on either side of the city. A total of 36 kilometres of the key route will be completely resurfaced.

“Any time we get work done and our highways are improved, everybody benefits,” Richard Wilson told paNOW. “It’s one of 15 projects being announced in the province so we’re quite fortunate we’re one of those.”

Twenty-three continuous kilometres of the strategic route east of P.A. toward Melfort and 13 continuous kilometres to the west towards Shellbrook will be repaved, although we’ll have to wait some time for it. The Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure clarified the project would happen in the 2020 construction season, not this year as suggested by MLA Joe Hargrave Monday during the joint federal-provincial funding announcement .

The highway could certainly do with a facelift according to Wilson, especially after the very wet years experienced a few years back.

Centennial Cup

Preliminary Round - Day Six

7h ago

Badminton Provincials

Nipawin locals claim hardware during badminton provincials on home court

May 12, 2024

Sports

Bedard's three-point effort leads Canada past Denmark 5-1 at hockey worlds

May 12, 2024

“There were stretches of that road when the water was seeping through the pavement, even in the winter time, that did a lot of damage,” he said. “They’ve gone through some tough times and they need to be fixed that’s for sure.”

Ministry spokesperson Doug Wakabayashi said the two sections of Highway 3 would get a completely new top after having had crack repairs, re-sealing and some medium-term fixes over the years, and drainage elements would be checked.

“Typically when we do repaving work we look to see too if, for example, the crown of the road is shaped properly so it drains properly, and the shoulders are in good shape, things like that,” he said.

Wakabayashi added the various projects approved for work across the province secured the matching federal funding because they had to be of national or regional importance and Highway 3 qualified given its significance for the forestry, agricultural and tourism sectors.

And for local commuters who’ve endured a sometimes bumpy ride in recent years, the resurfacing will be very welcome.

“You’ll have a much smoother and quieter ride,” he said.

—

glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow