REGINA, Sask. — Construction is progressing across southern Saskatchewan, with more than $100 million invested during the 2007 construction season.

In the southeastern portion of the province, $79 million worth of major highway and bridge improvements are being undertaken, while an additional $25.3 million is being invested in the southwestern area of the province.

“The province will continue to invest in transportation projects to support our booming and diverse economy through Transportation for Economic Advantage,” Highways and Transportation Minister Buckley Belanger said. “This strategy will see $5 billion invested over the next decade to improve and realign our transportation system. While existing industries in Saskatchewan, including oil and gas, mining, value-added agriculture, tourism and others, will benefit from these transportation improvements, they will also help to attract new business ventures to the area.”

Major construction projects across the southern part of the province include work on Highways 1, 4, 8, 9, 13, 21, 39, 48, 271 and 379.

With a record provincial transportation budget of $433 million, this construction season has been busy in all regions of the province,” Belanger said. “We will continue to work toward our 10-year, $5 billion commitment to fundamentally realign the transportation network to ensure our export-dependant industries can move goods efficiently and to provide more opportunities for business to invest and grow in Saskatchewan.”