REGINA, Sask. — Saskatchewan has completed twinning the west portion of the Trans-Canada Highway.

Work on the final 38 kilometre section on Hwy. 1 near Maple Creek wrapped up Monday and is now open to traffic, says Highways and Transportation Minister, Mark Wartman.

The project was fast-tracked when more funding became available from the province and the feds under the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund and the Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program.

Local Fire Chief, Keith Stork, expects the severity of accidents to be reduced on the newly-twinned stretch, and he says the job was finished just in time.

“The last couple of weeks, we’ve had some terribly high winds,” Stork told local media. “When you get that wind and you have ground drifting and the roads ice up, a lot of times there is weather involved when there are accidents.”