Saskatchewan increases highway budget

REGINA (March 30) — Highways and Transportation Minister Judy Bradley said Saskatchewan will budget $234. 6 million for highway construction and maintenance in 1999-2000, an increased investment of $15 million from the previous year.

She gave high priority to projects that would help the government fulfill its promise to twin all of Hwy. 1 in Saskatchewan and Hwy. 16 from the Battlefords to the Alberta border before 2012.

Bradley said 10.5 kilometres of Hwy. 16 from west of Lashburn to Marshall and 21 kilometres east of Indian Head on Hwy. 1 would be twinned this year, and 27 kilometres west of Gull Lake on Hwy. 1 would be paved and opened to traffic in the fall.

The budget increase also includes a new $5 million program to help local governments find ways to manage traffic on highways being impacted by increased truck traffic and improve the overall level of freight service to rural Saskatchewan.

The provincial government is investing an additional $10 million in revenue sharing programs to support development of infrastructure in northern, rural and urban municipalities

Bradley called on Ottawa to provide further funding for infrastructure maintenance and development. “We are optimistic about recent reports that the federal government is finally recognizing the value of a National Highway Program,” she said. “If that program is part of the next federal budget, it would certainly speed up our twinning plans.”