Local and provincial representatives at ribbon cutting ceremony for Highway 55 improvement project (Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW)

By Ben Tompkins

Life is a highway

Highway 55 improvement project celebrated

Oct 20, 2022 | 5:26 PM

An improvement project for Highway 55, just north of Carrot River, is now complete.

Local and provincial representatives, as well as a few from Manitoba, were in attendance for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the new part of the road.

“When I was first elected in 2007, I said one of the things I wanted to see done was Highway 55, so this is great news,” said Carrot River MLA Fred Bradshaw.

More than $20 million was invested by the Provincial and Federal Governments to resurface nearly 38 kilometres of the highway, as well as install 30 new culverts.

Bradshaw also told northeastNOW about the impacts it will have on local communities.

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“We have Red Earth and Shoal Lake Cree Nation and they do their dealings in Prince Albert, Nipawin, and Carrot River, so this road is a great improvement for them. It will really improve the safety of this stretch of road.”

During high precipitation years, the water encroached on the shoulders of Highway 55.

The additional culverts and widening of the road will provide improved drainage to reduce the risk of flooding in the future.

According to Saskatchewan Highways Minister, Jeremy Cockrill, it’s not just the safety that has been enhanced.

“It’s really exciting starting to understand the local industries that drive the different regions of the province. In this area, there’s agriculture and forestry. It’s going to have a really great positive impact on the forestry industry in terms of getting product to the mill and then finished product out. That has great benefit for the communities and everybody who works in this area.”

The highway was also upgraded to primary weight to ensure the reliability of the movement of goods.

“Trade in our province’s economy depends on us being able to export our products efficiently, whether that’s food and fuel or fertilizer and forestry products,” added Cockrill. “It’s important that we have the right trade corridors to get those products to market.”

The new upgraded surface of Highway 55 runs approximately 1.2 km west of the junction with Highway 123 to about 37 km east of the same junction.

Venture Construction of Martensville was the general contractor of the project, while Clunie Consulting of Prince Albert acted as the consulting engineer.

The Government of Saskatchewan is improving more than 1,100 km of provincial highways this year, for a total of 3,500 km over the past three years.

The government has set a 10-year Growth Plan target of improving 10,000 km of highways. With this year’s improvements, the province is ahead of the pace needed to meet this target.

The Government of Saskatchewan has invested more than $11.5 billion in highway infrastructure since 2008, improving more than 18,400 km of Saskatchewan highways.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8