WHITE CITY - Safety is the priority this long weekend as several provincial agencies remind motorists to watch out for increased road construction activity on the highways.
A number of different agencies came together for a kickoff event Thursday in White City to remind people about how to stay safe on the roads. Those in attendance included representatives from SGI, SaskPower, SaskTel, and Sask Energy, as well, as from the Ministry of Highways, Regina Police Service, and the City of Regina, among others.
Their overriding message tomorrow motorists was to pay attention to work zones and remember to slow down, follow the signs and respect the flag persons, so that construction workers can make it home to their families.
Victoria Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer season, and in Saskatchewan it also kicks off the summer highway construction season.
As a result, many motorists can expect to encounter road construction activities in their way outdoors to provincial parks or the lake, or other destinations.
Construction workers are urging people to pay close attention to workers and to respect all signs.
Alex Pierrard, a sign truck operator for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways based out of Weyburn, says he usually works right on the edge of the open highway where cars could go at speeds up to 110 kilometers an hour.
He says they ask all drivers to slow to 60 km an hour, to move over, and to be patient. “We're not hard to see. We've got a sign truck and a pickup behind it, covered in lights, and we're right on the shoulder of the road…”
“And many drivers do pay attention. They slow down, they move over, and we thank them. Some don't. We, all too often, we'll see drivers come flying by us at full speed, sometimes far too close. I've had scenarios where I've literally had to pull a colleague back because they were about to get very close with traffic, because those drivers weren't doing what we asked them to, which is to slow down, move over, and give us space.”
Minister of Highways David Marit said there will be a lot of construction happening, with over $700 million invested again this year in highways.
“So, the big thing we really want everybody to be aware of is that there's a lot of construction work going on right now in various parts,” Marit said. “And you go on the highway hotline, and you can check where the construction is being done, so that you can time your trip.”
Some particular areas will see some major projects. Marit pointed to the Moose Jaw Overpass on No. 1 and No. 2 Highway, where that overpass is being raised over a meter. Another major project is in Weyburn where they are twinning the highway and also,putting a big roundabout for Highway 39 and Highway 13.
He also pointed to passing lanes from Fort Qu’Appelle to Melville, where tenders have just closed.
And there will be significant maintenance work done on No. 1 Highway and on No. 11 Highway.
But there are also important projects within the urban areas as well.mChris Warren, Director of Roadways and Transportation for the City of Regina, points to projects on 11th Avenue and Dewdney Ave., among others.
He pointed to the need for drivers to be careful on city streets where a multitude of city workers are working.
“In our roadways and transportation department, we have about 370 employees that deliver all sorts of different projects, whether it's asphalt, concrete, bridges, traffic signals, expressway lighting, our engineering folks. So we've got about 370 folks that deliver on those projects specifically, but we also have a lot of staff that are water crews that do our underground work and our water breaks and things like that. So the city's got a pretty, I'm not sure the exact number of employees in the city, somewhere around 3,000, but probably upwards of around 1,000. Just the internal city folks that deliver various construction and maintenance programs on our roadways and undergrounds every single day.”
Lorilee Davies, Acting Chief of Police for Regina, also pointed to the need for safety on Regina roads, especially when driving past police vehicles that may be performing traffic stops.
“Our police officers, anytime they're conducting a traffic stop or investigating a motor vehicle collision or out on the roadways, and so every time they step out of that vehicle in traffic, they are potentially putting themselves in danger. And we've had a number of incidents where our officers have had close calls where motorists have not slowed down, not pulled over. And so I think just reiterating that message, not just for police but for all emergency services personnel and all road crews that are out there working, is really important. “
Davies spoke of the message her police force wanted to send to motorists this weekend.
“Well, typically we know that long weekends there is more traffic on our highways, and so certainly we reinforce that message to say, hey, long weekends, there's a lot more users on the roadways. Typically we tend to have a few more fatalities, and so just really encouraging people to follow all safety rules, especially on a long weekend. Ensure that you're not driving impaired by alcohol or drugs.”
