More Than $20 Million Investment Into Improving Highway 55 In Northeast Saskatchewan Complete

A highway project aimed to ensure the safe and reliable movement of people and goods is complete north of Carrot River on Highway 55.

This highway is an important connector for Indigenous communities like Red Earth and Shoal Lake Cree Nations, as well as regional businesses and the forest industry.

The 50/50 cost-shared highway improvement project includes surfacing of almost 38 kilometres (km) of Highway 55 as well as 30 new culverts. The new upgraded surface of Highway 55 runs approximately 1.2 km west of the junction with Highway 123 to about 37 km east of the same junction.

During high precipitation years, the water encroached the shoulders of Highway 55. The additional culverts and widening of the road will provide improved drainage to reduce the risk of flooding in the future.

“Our government is investing to make Canada’s communities more resilient, fight climate change and improve Canadians’ quality of life,” said Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities. “Working with our partners, we are delivering improvements to Highway 55 that will facilitate the movement of goods and people in Northeastern Saskatchewan, helping farmers get their goods to market and creating jobs in the process.”

“Protecting critical infrastructure is a priority for our government. Highway 55 is an important transportation link for residents and the forestry sector,” Highways Minster Jeremy Cockrill said. “This represents fulfillment of a long-standing need and a commitment to upgrade this critical route to primary weight.”

The area has been prone to flooding and the mitigation measures taken will improve access. The highway is also being upgraded to primary weight to ensure the reliability of the movement of goods.

Venture Construction of Martensville is the general contractor of the project with Clunie Consulting of Prince Albert acting as the consulting engineer.

The Government of Saskatchewan is improving more than 1,100 km of provincial highways this year, for a total of 3,500 km over the past three years. The government has set a 10-year Growth Plan target of improving 10,000 km of highways. With this year’s improvements, the province is ahead of the pace needed to meet this target.

The Government of Saskatchewan has invested more than $11.5 billion in highways infrastructure since 2008, improving more than 18,400 km of Saskatchewan highways.