REGINA, Sask. — Saskatchewan continues to increase its trucker-friendliness, most recently committing $1.6 million to create high clearance trucking corridors for over-dimensional loads.

The corridors will allow oversize loads to be trucked without the need to raise or temporarily cut power lines and other structures, the province announced. The corridors will run from Saskatoon to the Alberta border on Hwy. 7 and from Melville to Rosetown via Hwy. 15 and 4.

“Providing reliable, low-cost and efficient routes to export markets is a primary focus of our government’s management of the transportation system,” Highways and Infrastructure Minister Jim Reiter said. “We are listening to the people who create jobs and investment in Saskatchewan and responding to their needs.”

“From the very beginning, Enterprise Saskatchewan’s mandate has been centered around listening to the business community in the province, and working collaboratively to remove barriers to growth,” Enterprise Minister Ken Cheveldayoff said. “Not only have we worked to smooth out regulatory burdens and taxation issues, but now we have been able to remove actual physical barriers to export growth. That translates into success for the industry, success for government and success for the taxpayers of this province.”

Saskatchewan also vowed to reduce the red tap involved in hauling over-dimensional loads. Previously, shippers had to work with regulatory authorities to plan a route and arrange for utilities to be raised with each move. Now, shippers can just pay a permit fee to use the corridor, which will cost substantially less than paying for the raising of electrical wires, the province notes.

Ready-to-move houses and industrial products for the oilsands will be among the products hauled along the high clearance corridors.