MORE THAN $25 MILLION IN BRIDGE WORK IN THE WEEKLY CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

Highway 16 Bridge Project to Detour Wide Loads

Construction of a new $1.1 million bridge on Highway 16 near Maidstone is expected to begin as early as next week and will impact wide loads heading eastbound.

"We're working extremely hard to restore aging infrastructure in the province by improving and replacing bridges," Highways and Infrastructure Minister Don McMorris said. "Our government is making record investments into our provincial highways, including $581.5 million this year, the first year of our four-year commitment of $2.2 billion."

Once construction begins, trucks travelling on Highway 16 east of Maidstone will be restricted to widths 4.3 metres or less. A detour will be in effect from about 9 kilometres east of the junction Highway 21 and over-width loads will need to use Highways 21, 40 and 4 to the Battlefords. Over-dimensional vehicles using this detour will be responsible for ensuring that the route is adequate and will need to confirm weights restriction in addition to vertical and horizontal clearances.

All other eastbound traffic on Highway 16 will be reduced to one lane through the work zone in this area. Westbound traffic won't be affected.

The bridge work is expected to begin as early as Monday, September 17 and completed by mid-October, subject to weather. Check the Highway Hotline for updates.

Other bridge work currently underway in Saskatchewan includes Highway 2 near St. Louis, Highway 349 near Archerwill, Highway 21 over the east Cypress Lake canal, Highway 335 over the Leather River and Highway 18 over McDonald Creek.

Several new highway construction projects expected to get underway this week include repairs to Highway 3 near Hudson Bay, patching on Highway 11 between Hague and Duck Lake and seal coating on Highway 13 east of Ogema.

Additional travel information about emergency road closures, the status of ferries and barges along with other road activities can also be found on the Highway Hotline at www.highways.gov.sk.ca/road-conditions. It's also available by calling 306-787-7623 in Regina, 306-933-8333 in Saskatoon, the SaskTel cellular network at *ROAD, toll-free across Canada at 1-888-335-7623 and via the Highway Hotline mobile website at http://hotline.gov.sk.ca/sk/map/mobile/.

The weekly provincial highway construction update is posted to the Highway Hotline Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SaskatchewanHighwayHotline and Tweeted @SKGovHwyHotline. Pictures of various construction projects and some maintenance activities can be found on the ministry's website at www.highways.gov.sk.ca/constructionseason2012 in the photo gallery.

Motorists must slow to 60 km/hr when passing workers and equipment in the Orange Zone. For more information about construction zones, visit http://www.highways.gov.sk.ca/orangezone/.

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For more information, contact:

Steve Shaheen
Highways and Infrastructure
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4867