Sask. aims to reduce crashes with safety improvements on highway outside of Prince Albert
The provincial government is hoping recently completed passing lanes and plans to twin a portion of Highway 3 west of Prince Albert will reduce serious crashes.
The province funded three sets of passing lanes between 10 kilometres west of Prince Albert to Shellbrook. It also plans on twinning a 7.1 kilometre stretch from the city to the Shell River bridge.
Minister of Highways Fred Bradshaw said the ministry has funded 27 sets of passing lanes across Saskatchewan in the past four years.
“We found everywhere where we put in passing lanes, the accident rate has gone way down,” he said.
Bradshaw said passing lanes have shown to reduce fatal crashes by 75 per cent.
“I’ve actually travelled this highway, so I know what it’s like out here and how much traffic is on that highway, especially with the lumber industry,” he said.
“People get lined up behind heavy equipment and they try to take a chance and go out and pass.”
Highway 3 between Prince Albert and Shellbrook has recently seen crashes resulting in deaths or serious injuries.
This includes the deaths of a 30-year-old man and a four-year-old boy last year.
Lexi Zbaraschuk has also been advocating for improvements since she suffered life-altering injuries in 2018, when her car collided with a semi-truck. She was 16 years old at the time.
In an interview with CTV News after the highway upgrades were announced, Zbaraschuk said she “was smiling so much she could barely talk.”
It’s also welcome news to Shellbrook mayor Amund Otterson. While some collisions are “inevitable,” he believes the safety improvements will significantly reduce serious crashes.
“A lot of people live in Shellbrook and work in Prince Albert. But on the other hand, education and health care workers come the other way in a lot of cases,” he explained.
“You’re not behind a lineup of commercial vehicles, which are going slow because they have to.”
The passing lanes cost $9.1 million. Pre-construction on the twinning outside of Prince Albert is set to start later this fall.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
LIVE SOON Honda expected to announce Ontario EV battery plant, part of a $15B investment
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Honda executives are expected to announce today that the Japanese automaker is building an electric vehicle battery plant in Alliston, Ont., part of a $15-billion investment.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'