The talk of twinning Highways 39 and 6 from Estevan to Regina has dissipated in recent years.
The provincial government said in 2013 that it was going to twin the 200-kilometre stretch of highway, but the combination of a sliding provincial economy and the money spent on the Regina bypass caused the government to abandon the much-needed project, and move forward with the less popular combination of passing lanes and twinning.
Yes, certain portions will be twinned, such as Highway 6 directly south of Regina and Highway 39 near Weyburn and Milestone, but we’re going to get a lot more passing lanes than double lanes.
While there was outcry at first when the government said passing lanes instead of twinned highways, that was seemingly replaced by resignation once people realized that twinning wasn’t part of the future. Even the Time to Twin committee – a group of local residents that lobbied the government for double lanes – has seemingly dropped their fight over the past two years.
But you’re starting to hear people calling for twinning once again after the death of a 19-year-old in a head-on collision south of Weyburn Sunday morning. It’s the second fatal collision on Highway 39 in the past two months.
Nobody will deny we`ve seen a decrease in the amount of traffic on Highway 39 since the economic downturn started in 2014. There are fewer people in the region, so it’s a natural expectation that you would have fewer vehicles on the roads.
Six years ago, it was common to see a line of 10 or 12 vehicles playing follow the leader on Highway 39 between Estevan and Weyburn. Those vehicles were lucky to clear the speed limit, and there were few opportunities to pass. It was a major hazard on the highway, and it served as an argument against passing lanes.
After all, a 2 1/2-kilometre set of passing lanes was not going to give vehicles at the back of the lengthy line enough time to pass those who were at the front.
And eastbound traffic faces a solid double lane when westbound traffic has a passing lane.
One thing hasn’t changed, though: the number of semi trucks on the road. Highway 39 is still a major international trade route, with heavy trucks shipping goods. They’ll use Highway 39 from Moose Jaw to North Portal, or Highways 39 and 6 from Regina to North Portal, to ship goods as part of the Central North American Trade Corridor.
The government has said in the past that it could eventually convert passing lanes to double lanes, but do you honestly expect that’s going to happen? Once we get passing lanes, we’re going to have passing lanes. Barring an explosion in population or traffic numbers, the government isn’t going to look at twinning again.
The process of installing passing lanes has been a slow one. We have two sets on Highway 6 south of Regina. It sounds like the passing lanes from Hitchcock to Weyburn will be built in 2020, with the rest of the passing lanes to be built afterwards.
But that also means it’s not too late to look at double lanes once again, right?
Forget the passing lanes. Take another long, hard look at twinning. Get moving on them this year.
This is ultimately a safety issue. And twinning Highways 39 and 6 makes sense when you look at the traffic volumes, the amount of heavy trucks on the road, and the potential for greater safety when compared to passing lanes or the status quo.
