Road repairs and culvert work on Highway 18 west of Estevan are nearing completion, according to the Ministry of Highways.
"It's my understanding that the culverts have been replaced and done on that side of it. That started obviously earlier this year. I know some were trenched in and some were also bored in as well. The paving, the road crew is there now...doing the road work to finish off Highway 18. I mean that will really give us a pretty nice highway right from Estevan right over to the junction of [Highway] 6," shared David Marit, the minister of highways in the province.
Marit noted two benefits of refurbishing the highway: safety and the fact that it's been long overdue. Collaborations with the local RMs, he said, were key to making this project happen. "It really started, you know, a few years ago when I was the Highways Minister back in 2016 and working with a lot of the RMs in the communities...going there and saying, 'Look, you know, how are we going to make this highway work for everybody?'"
A big part of the reason that the Ministry of Highways moved to fix the highway is the lack of people driving on it due to safety concerns. Marit says the investment should pay off once the construction is done. "It has a big impact for those communities, but everybody that lives along that highway as well, to have a safe highway and a good highway to travel in and out of Estevan, whether it's for personal health care or whatever the case may be, to do their business of the day."
"We look at the priorities and the needs of it all. We look at traffic volumes and things like that. And, of course, Highway 18 was at a place where nobody was travelling [on it] because of the condition of it. It's kind of like the chicken and egg thing: if you build it, they will come."
The collaboration between the provincial government and the RMs around Highway 18 extends past construction. The ministry has worked closely with local governments and the industries around the highway to make sure that weight limits on the road are respected.
Highway 18's rehabilitation is nearing the finish line, but crews are still out on the road. Paving work started earlier this week just outside of Estevan. Marit recognizes the short construction window they have, and asks motorists to be patient as the work continues.
"In the province of Saskatchewan, or really anywhere up there in Canada, we have a very, very short window for getting road work done. It usually starts in May and starts to wind up by September. So when you've got as many kilometres of road as we do and trying to get as much done as you can with the budget we have, you have to try and get done what you can."
"I just ask the public to really respect the speed limits and the [construction] zone and the workers. There isn't anybody out here on those roads working that doesn't have family - and they're all expected to be home. And we all want to get home safely. So, I really do ask the driving public to be patient."
"Nobody likes to be delayed. I drive the highways, too, and when I'm trying to go somewhere, you want to get there. But it's really not a big delay when you really stop and think of the overall dynamics of it all. It might be three or four minutes or five minutes. In some cases, I know I waited in a construction zone yesterday probably for 10 minutes.But you just have to do what you have to do."
Marit expressed that the paving work on the entire stretch of Highway 18 from Estevan to the Highway 6 junction near Gladmar will be finished this year. According to the Highway Hotline, they're expecting the work to be done by October 31.
You can check upcoming road conditions and ongoing road maintenance anytime on the Trent's Tire Road Reports Link on DiscoverEstevan.com.