Following meeting at SARM: Highways Minister promises work on Hwy 8
March 18, 2024, 8:25 am
Kevin Weedmark
Saskatchewan Highways Minister Lori Carr told the World-Spectator Friday that work will be completed this summer of resurfacing the mine road from Rocanville to the Nutrien Rocanville mine site, a large patching program will take place on Highway 8 between Moosomin and Rocanville, and work will begin on design for resurfacing that section.
The World-Spectator spoke with Carr following a meeting she had with Moosomin MLA Steven Bonk, RM of Moosomin Reeve David Moffatt ant RM of Rocanville Reeve Melissa Ruhland to discuss the state of the highway.
“Steven Bonk has been talking to me about this section of road for quite some time here and he was aware that both of those municipalities were in town for SARM so he said, ‘Do you think it would be possible that we could get together and meet with them face-to-face?’ I said, ‘We sure can,’ and the next day we had a meeting,” Carr said Friday.
“I think the meeting was really respectful. The community just put forward the issues that they see with the road and then we had the opportunity to respond with what work is coming and what’s taking place on there right now.
“They brought up the condition of the road, the amount of traffic that it has, the economic corridor that it is to the mine—just all of the things that make that road so important to all of the communities around there.”
Carr said she understands the local concerns. “Their concerns are all very valid and I completely understand where they’re coming from,” she said.
“The on-road construction is expected to begin in 2024, so this summer. There will be a major improvement on Highway 8 northeast of Rocanville to the Nutrien potash mine, which is locally known as the mine road. This is a 14.6 km long project which is estimated to cost approximately $15.1 million. That’s an investment that the Government of Saskatchewan is making.
“Then of course there’s the other section of road that goes all the way back into Moosomin and right now the speed limit has been reduced to 80 km/hr because there are some sections that are in very rough condition. We’ve had, as you will fully be aware of, a very strange winter with freeze/thaw, freeze/thaw. For roads, that’s not a good mix for them, but as soon as it gets warm enough and we’re able to get out there, there will be some significant patching work done on that to help keep that road maintained for this year.”
She said design work on resurfacing the Moosomin to Rocanville section will begin soon.
“The design work will be started this year for the remainder of the section of that road that comes back down to Moosomin.
“It all comes down to the budget cycles and of course we have plans for a bunch of different roads already in the mix—so roads that the design has already been done on. We do want to get it done as soon as we can, just because of the nature of that road, the amount of traffic and the importance to the community, and that is what Steven Bonk has been advocating for.”
She said a lot of work goes into deciding on the top priorities for road work.
“Everybody’s road is important to them, there’s no question about that, but it really does come down to safety, traffic numbers and how many people actually travel that road, the nature of the road, the type of traffic that’s on that road—is it heavy equipment? Are they bigger semis? That kind of stuff. So all of those factors come into play and of course the condition of the existing road.”
She said economic factors also come into play.
“Economic growth is definitely a consideration that needs to be taken into account. The province of Saskatchewan at this point in time is really blessed with economic growth and it’s not just in the Moosomin area—it is happening right across this province. So a lot of factors go into play but economics definitely do also. With growth it’s great, but there are these other things that come into play with growth.”
She said the province continues to spend significant dollars on highway improvements.
“Over the past few years we’ve had some really big projects and of course over Covid we did some stimulus funding to keep people working so we had a little bit extra, but overall the Ministry of Highways’ capital budget stays fairly consistent. Last year, because of inflation, it did get a top-up to help cover some of those factors and of course we do have a budget coming out next week that will indicate what happens next year.”
Carr heard about the state of Highway 8 between Moosomin and Rocanville from Kyle Toffan, the deputy minister of Highways, who was on that road recently.
“My Deputy Minister Kyle Toffan, his children are in hockey and so he was on that road two weeks ago. So he got to see firsthand exactly what the condition is. He has the same consensus as the community, that it needs some work.”
