REGINA, Sask. — Saskatchewan’s new premier, Lorne Calvert, promised to make the province’s highways a priority, and he came good on that promise during Friday’s budget announcement.

A total of $311.7 million will be invested in highways this year, an increase of $61.6 million. That is 24.7 per cent more than last year’s department budget. In addition to that, the province has committed to investing more than $900 million in transportation over the next three years.

Accelerating the twinning of Hwy. 1 between Tompkins and the Alberta border tops the list of transportation projects. The province will complete the project four years ahead of schedule.

“Today’s budget shows we are committed to fixing the roads,” Highways and Transportation Minister Pat Atkinson says. “The resource windfalls from oil and gas we received last year gave us a chance to push ahead our twinning plans. We seized that opportunity to save lives and improve safety.”