Work will resume this spring on the twinning of sections of Highways 6 and 39. The announcement was officially made by the provincial Minister of Highways and Infrastructure, Lori Carr, near the hamlet of Corinne.
“The purpose of the twinning is to ensure safety in the area,” Carr said. “We’ve got a train track, we’ve got several intersections, heavy traffic, so this twinning project, which will be about seven kilometres right here in this area, will definitely alleviate some of those pressures when people are turning or coming onto the highway.”
The work on the two highways started in recent years, with the completion of passing lanes along the highways from Regina to Estevan. The passing lanes were chosen as an alternative to twinning the entire stretch, which was the initial goal, but was ruled out due to the cost.
Carr was referring to the section that will start north of Corinne on Highway 6 and will continue southeast of Corinne on Highway 39, including the stretch that is locally known as the Corinne Corner. In addition to the twinning work on that stretch, there will also be roughly 13 kilometres of highways in the same area that will be repaved.
The total cost of the project is an estimated $57 million. Just under half of that amount, $27 million, will be provided by the federal government through the National Corridor Fund. The remaining $30 million is being covered by the provincial government.
Carr emphasized safety as being behind the decision, noting over 3400 vehicles pass over the stretch of highway every day.
“People are turning all the time, whether that be left or right, people are going straight, and just the nature of the traffic can be very dangerous with the big trucks that go through, so the safety that will happen with the twinning, and having the lane in between the two roadways for people to be able to stop and cross when safe, will be great,” Carr stated.
The minister also reminded motorists to slow to 60 when going through the construction zone.
The project is expected to be completed this year, with crews getting started early next month.