(Submitted/Department of Highways)

By Cam Lee

Highway 5 update

Highway 5 project in the final stretch

Oct 17, 2025 | 2:34 PM

There’s some light at the end of the tunnel for a huge project that is years in the making.

Highways Minister David Marit has announced that the multi-year upgrade on Highway 5 between Humboldt and Saskatoon is in its last phase of construction.

(Submitted/Department of Highways)

The $147-million project has seen the bulk of work near St. Denis winding down, with the widening of the highway shoulder, resurfacing, and installation of a set of passing lanes. The re-alignment of two roads connecting Highway 5 to the north and south was also completed this month.

Marit said they have had some setbacks throughout the project.

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“They hit a lot of rock, and that was obviously one of the challenges they had,” Marit said. “But when you don’t have good material to build the road, then you’ve got to find it.”

According to Marit, crews had to haul a lot of material to the construction sites. There were also some low areas that collected significant amounts of water, and Marit added that the crews had to ensure sight lines were where they wanted them to be.

“It obviously did come with some challenges, but it’s sure good to see at the end of the day that we do have a very safe highway built.”

The project has moved on to twinning about 10 kilometres of the highway east of Saskatoon, and Marit hopes to have that project finished by the end of 2026. He said the highway is fully open to traffic, and there will be no more diversions or closures. There may be some areas that will see traffic slowed down to 80 km/h should construction be adjacent to the highway.

Gravel will be hauled to the highway site over the winter, and construction will start on the final stretch in the spring.

Marit said the highway improvement was primarily motivated by safety. The stretch between Humboldt and Saskatoon was narrow, twisty, and hilly, and has featured several traffic collisions over the years.

“The highway was narrow, the shoulders were steep, the sight lines were terrible,” Marit said. “The highway followed the terrain, and it really wasn’t good.”

He also believes having a safer, wider highway with frequent passing lanes will make Hwy 5 busier.

“It’s the old adage ‘if you build it, they will come’; now we’ve just rebuilt it and the traffic will come, and I think you will see even more of it,” Marit said. He added there were likely people that chose not to use the highway in the past because of safety factors.

Marit believes the passing lanes on Hwy 5 will make a huge difference in travel. He cited the addition of similar lanes on Hwy 2 to Humboldt as an example.

“Those passing lanes are absolutely amazing and nobody’s in a rush, they know it’s coming up, and it’s safe.”

Economic growth in the area also made highway improvement important, Marit said. That includes the BHP site at Jansen and other value-added processors opening in the Humboldt area. He said the improvement could also spur more interest in economic development in the region.

Saskatchewan Mining Association President Pam Schwann was also at Friday’s announcement and agreed that safety is the largest priority as it comes to these projects.

“Safety is the first thing we think about any time we’re at work and getting our employees to work and our contractors to work and our supplies into the mine site all depend on safe roads,” Schwann said.

She said there have been fatalities on that highway with people coming to or leaving work, and having a safer corridor for travel is vital.

While all the potash leaves by rail, supplies and workers arrive by road, and having safe, reliable highways are crucial.

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cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com