REGINA, Sask. — The province of Saskatchewan is going ahead with plans to twin Hwy. 1, with or without help from the federal government.

Work is proceeding ahead of schedule on Hwy. 1 near Maple Creek and recently a tender was issued for a stretch west of Tompkins.

“The people of Saskatchewan have told us that twinning is important to them, and we are committed to keeping our promises and meeting the expectations of the province,” Highways and Transportation Minister Mark Wartman says. “Last year, we opened 70 new kilometres of twinned highway, and this year, the province will invest $20.6 million to continue building on our twinning success.”

Last week work began on a 9.5-km stretch with twinning of a 14-km stretch already under way.

“We have invested more than $75 million in twinning Highway 1 and Highway 16 west since 1997,” Wartman says. “We are pressing the federal government to meet its obligations in this area to speed up the completion of the twinning.”