Saskatchewan Drive in Melfort is being paved from the railway tracks north of the Canalta Hotel to the Highway 41A intersection on the west side. (Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

By Angie Rolheiser

Sask. Drive Paving

Rain delays paving of Saskatchewan Drive in Melfort

Sep 11, 2019 | 12:00 PM

Recent rain is not only delaying harvest but it’s also put a bit of a halt on the paving of Saskatchewan Drive in Melfort.

Work was expected to get underway late last week but will now begin on Monday.

The contractor working on behalf of the Ministry of Highways has arrived in the city and workers have started to put up signage in the area.

“Due to the weather and current rain, crews will be back in town on the weekend and we expect that the process will start on Monday,” Director of Development, Planning, and Community Relations Brent Lutz said.

A portion of the north driving lane will be milled which involves grinding down some of the pavement to reshape the road before the new pavement is applied.

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Traffic interruptions are expected to be kept to a minimum with the north side of the road to be worked on first with two way traffic open on the south side.

“We will then reverse that process to do the work that needs to be done on the south side of the road,” Lutz said.

Motorists are encouraged to slow down, watch for workers and follow the signs during the paving period.

Sidewalks along the road were replaced, water and sewer lines have been replaced, as well as gutters and curbs being fixed or replaced in preparation of the paving.

The Saskatchewan Drive repaving has been on the minds of city administrators for a while now, since they entered the agreement with the Saskatchewan Urban Highway Connector Program 10 years ago.

The City of Melfort and the province is to share the cost of the project that extends from the Highway 41A intersection on the west side of the street all the way to the railway tracks on the east side, just north of the Canalta Hotel.

“We are all looking forward to a finished project here in a few weeks where we can enjoy smooth sailing down Saskatchewan Drive,” Lutz said.

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angie.rolheiser@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Angie_Rolheiser