A ribbon cutting marked the completion of a $10.6 million passing lane project on Highway 12 north of Martensville.

"Highway 12 is an important and busy transportation corridor for commuters into Saskatoon," Highways Minister Jeremy Cockrill said. "Our government continues to look at investments where we can make an impact and passing lanes provide efficiency and increased safety."

The five passing lanes have been constructed between Martensville and the Highway 312 access. This passing lane project provides additional opportunities for drivers to pass safely.

"Highway 12 is a busy and important road for travel and many of our residents use it daily to get to work or conduct their business," R.M. of Laird, Reeve Sheldon Willems said. "Improving road safety is always welcome and we appreciate the new passing lanes."

Passing lanes are typically a minimum of two kilometres in length and are designed to allow drivers to pass slower moving vehicles safely, such as large trucks and semi-trailers.

Almost 60 sets of passing lanes have been added to Saskatchewan's road network over the past five years.

The Ministry will improve more than 1,100 kilometres (km) of provincial highways this year, putting us on track to exceed the Growth Plan goal to build and upgrade 10,000 km of highways over 10 years.

The Government of Saskatchewan has invested more than $11.5 billion in highways since 2008, improving more than 18,400 km of Saskatchewan roads.