If there was any lingering shred of hope that Highways 39 and 6 between Estevan and Regina would have double lanes in a few years, it appeared to be dashed last week in a meeting between the local Time to Twin committee and Saskatchewan Highways and Infrastructure Minister David Marit.
Marit once again reiterated that the government was now looking at constructing passing lanes between the two communities, and that the work could begin as early as next year.
Using the government’s numbers of 15 sets of passing lanes in each direction, measuring two to 2 1/2 kilometres each, it means that 15 to 20 per cent of the 200-kilometre stretch of highway will have passing lanes.
The Mercury was proud to be a strong advocate for twinning. We saw the value of having double lanes, especially when the economy took off midway through the last decade, resulting in nearly 10 years of prosperity.
But when the economy slowed in 2014, it didn’t take long for some people to start wondering whether the double lanes would proceed, or if the government would take another strong look at passing lanes.
We received our answer in the 2016 and 2017 provincial budgets, when the government said it was looking at a combination of passing lanes and twinning.
Now we’re hearing about passing lanes. And the Time to Twin committee has put its efforts on hold.
The people who have been part of this committee deserve a lot of credit. Marge Young and Lauralie Ireland were there from the outset, and worked tirelessly for their cause. These were grandmothers who voluntarily poured hours into research and meetings, with the goal of one day having safer highways for us to drive on.
For a while, it appeared their efforts might be rewarded. In 2013, Premier Brad Wall announced the government was looking at twinning the highways instead of adding passing lanes. His announcement came just days after the late Jackie Fitzsimmons had her Heaven’s Flowered Highway initiative, in which she filmed all of the memorials on the highways between Estevan and Regina.
It was a testament to the impact that average citizens can have with hard work, dedication, passion and a realistic goal.
The Time to Twin committee says they’re now on hiatus. And while we likely won’t hear from them for a while, we hope they’ll continue to monitor the situation, and hold the government accountable if the passing lanes aren’t effective.
People should be concerned with passing lanes, particularly how long they will be, and if that will be enough time to clear out the 10-vehicle and 12-vehicle congestion often seen on Highways 39 and 6. The concept seems to work fine on Highway 10 between Balgonie and Yorkton, but that highway doesn’t share Highway 39’s volume of heavy trucks.
We’d also urge the government to look at twinning several kilometres of Highway 39 west of Estevan, as well as Highway 39 on either side of Weyburn, and Highway 6 south of Regina.
For the sake of the people who travel those highways, we hope passing lanes will work. And if they do, we’ll applaud the government for taking this step. But right now, the concerns still linger.
