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By Ben Tompkins

Transportation Investments

Road improvements coming to Highway 123, northeast of Carrot River

May 11, 2023 | 2:19 PM

The Government of Saskatchewan has made a $6 million investment for the preservation and maintenance of northern roads to support the province’s forestry industry.

These improvements will include stretches of Highway 123, which connects Carrot River and Cumberland House.

According to Bev Doerksen, administrator for the Rural Municipality of Carrot River, these improvements have been needed for a while.

“To be able to repair Highway 123 is huge. The whole section of Highway 123 is used by the logging industry, and it’s also for tourism. It will be a vital role in increasing the effectiveness of the use of Highway 123 for companies, residential owners, the ag area, and loggers and tourism.”

The funding is planned for roads that are expected to see an increase in traffic resulting from new and upgraded mills.

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According to the Ministry of Highways, the exact locations and lengths of the road improvements have yet to be determined, as they have to evaluate where spot maintenance needs to occur.

“You’ll find a section that needs some rehabilitation, and it could be anything from less than 100 meters to a few kilometres. We’ll make the improvements in those spot areas, as the idea is to sort of fix our problem areas on those highways, and in doing so, kind of improve the entire corridor,” explained David Horth.

An exact dollar amount for how the investment will be split up is also currently unknown, as they will “make an assessment of where the investments would make the most difference.”

Currently, the $6 million investment will be used between Highway 123, along with Highways 165, 912, and 913.

As of right now, the work is expected to begin shortly and continue throughout the summer (also known as construction season).

In the provincial government release, Edgewood Forest Products in Carrot River stated the “future looks bright for the Saskatchewan forestry industry”, and that the “industry is poised for growth”, as they recognized the Ministry’s efforts.

Horth explained this was one of the key goals in mind when looking to improve industry accessibility.

“This was intended specifically to try and sort of improve the condition of the roads so that the forest industry can get fibre from where they harvest it to where they process it,” he added. “As the Ministry of Highways, our job is really to create the infrastructure so that industry and entrepreneurs can then go and create, and that’s what we’re attempting to do.”

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