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Time to Twin team challenges McMorris's statistics

The Editor: We, the Time to Twin Highways 39 and 6 volunteers, want to reply to Minister of Highways and Infrastructure, Don McMorris's letter to the editor that appeared in the May 22 edition of the Estevan Mercury.

The Editor:

We, the Time to Twin Highways 39 and 6 volunteers, want to reply to Minister of Highways and Infrastructure, Don McMorris's letter to the editor that appeared in the May 22 edition of the Estevan Mercury.

The statistics we are using were received from the Ministry on May 22, 2013.

In his letter, Mr. McMorris stated that: Saskatoon to Clavet has an average of 8,610 vehicles per day. But he did not say it's only a distance of 18 kilometres.

He said North Portal to Corrine corner is 3,610 vehicles per day. But, he did not say it's a distance of 192 kilometres.

If you want to compare short mileage:

Highway 16 Clavet to Saskatoon (18 kms) equals 8,610 vehicles per day.

Highway 39 Bienfait to Estevan (11 kms) equals 7,480 vehicles per day.

Highway 7 Delisle to Saskatoon (36 kms) equals 6,690 vehicles per day.

Is Clavet considered a bedroom community for Saskatoon? Are these daily commuter numbers?

How can Mr. McMorris say both Highways No. 16 and No. 7 average higher heavy truck traffic than No. 39 and No. 6?

According to statistics we received from his own Ministry of Highways, the total annual average daily truck (TAADT) count from Highway 39 and 6, North Portal to Regina in 2012 was 4,600, over a distance of 230 kilometres.

For clarity, when we refer to heavy trucks we are speaking of trucks that are two tons or larger.

Highway 7, Saskatoon to the Alberta border, the TAADT in 2012 was 2,860 over a distance of 255 kilometres.

Highway 16 from Yorkton to Saskatoon, the TAADT was 2,890 over 317 kilometres.

Bienfait to Estevan is the highest with 1,200 to 1,500 larger trucks per day; over 10,000 per week.

It is our concern about the size the width and length and what is being hauled on and in these semis too.

The North American Trade Corridor does not stop at the Corrine corner. It extends to Regina.

From 2008 to 2012, Highway 6 from Regina to Corrine had 92 collisions with six deaths so that equals 6.52 per cent of fatalities to collisions.

In that same time frame, Highway 39 from North Portal to Corrine had 519 collisions and 13 deaths that equal 2.5 per cent of fatalities to collisions.

Therefore, Mr. McMorris cannot use highway 39 and 6 statistics separately. They must be considered as one route.

In those same four years, Highways 39 and 6, North Portal to Regina combined had 611 collisions and 19 deaths which equal 3.11 per cent of fatalities to collisions.

Again, in the same four years, Highway 7, Saskatoon to the Alberta border, had 876 collisions and 23 deaths that equal 3.62 per cent of fatalities to collisions.

Highway 16 of that four-year period, from Yorkton to Saskatoon, had 1,004 collisions and 19 deaths or 1.89 per cent of fatalities to collisions.

We were told on May 21 by a Ministry of Highways official, the cost to twin No. 39 and 6 would be $500 million. However, we were also told recently, by another Ministry of Highways official, it would be $276 million or $1.2 million per kilometer. That is a huge difference in the information that his ministry is providing to the public.

Mr. McMorris also stated in the letter, "It is crucial that we prioritize projects in order to best serve the needs of the province as a whole."

Our Time to Twin volunteers find it crucial for individuals to be able to travel on southeast Saskatchewan highways safely.

According to a Mercury poll, 43 per cent of those who responded to the question about getting to Regina, said they used Highways 47 and 33 to travel to Regina. Also, some residents of Weyburn travel on Highways 35 and 33 to get to Regina. If this is taken into consideration, the number of motorists too terrified to travel on the Highway 39 and 6 route, use the alternate roads. Add that to statistics for a more accurate number of vehicles that would otherwise normally drive on No. 39 and 6 if it were safe to do so.

With the increasing activity in the Bakken oilfield, the Global Transportation Hub traffic (not running at full capacity yet), the North Portal border crossing traffic (a major trade corridor), the carbon capture project at Boundary Dam Power Station, the clean coal projects, mining and agriculture expansion, one realizes this is just the beginning.

Now, the recently announced oil and grain transloading and transportation hub at Northgate has started construction. One can only imagine what additional dangers will be created by hundreds more semis and oil tanker trucks on our area highways every day.

Or does our provincial government feel our southeast highways meet the increasing demands of the present and future?

Our area is going to see an even larger influx of people over the next five years.

It is time our government becomes proactive.

We wonder if the provincial government has a future plan for dealing with all the changes occurring in southeast Saskatchewan?

The Time to Twin committee's objective has always been safety.

Therefore, we are hoping government officials are not minimizing our efforts and downplaying the need for twinning Highways 39 and 6.

Sincerely,
Lauralie Ireland, Abbie Velestuk, Marge Young
Time to Twin committee members