Another round of public consultations is wrapping up with the Ministry of Highways on the Highway 5 rebuild. This time the focus is on the twinning portion of the project from the junction of Old 27 Road to the existing twinned lanes on Highway 5 just east of Saskatoon. 

On the government website dedicated to information on the twinning project, the Ministry notes that the detailed design period is nearing completion. The consultation is being managed by an online survey with the deadline for public input coming up on January 31.

“We’ve been working on a 10 km extension on twinning on Highway 5 east of Saskatoon,” explains David Horth, director of communications for the Ministry of Highways. “It’s a project that’s going to improve safety and add additional highway capacity for a fast growing area.”

The latest communications effort is part of an extensive multi-year consultation that has gone on since the inception of the Highway 5 rebuild west of the Highway 2 junction. The design up to the twinning point is largely completed. As motorists along the stretch of Highway will attest, construction is proceeding with widening, passing lanes, turning lanes, and parallel access roads all part of the mix. Construction is set to resume this spring. 

The public can review the design plans and accompanying explanations before completing a brief survey that Horth says will take only a minute or two. 

“It takes a while to plan a twinning project,” Horth confides, “And this is subject to change, but we are looking at construction of the twinning sometime between 2024 and 2026.”

Consideration has been given to concerns around intersections and services roads at Sunset Estates and the Junction of Highway 316 to Clavet and the Patience Lake Mine. The design will accommodate access and turning space for equipment at the fire hall located at Sunset Estates. Turning lanes will be installed at old 27 Road and acceleration lanes will be installed for traffic accessing Highway 5 at the Highway 316 turn.

The plans for access to other roads are presented on the project website. (https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/public-consultations/highway-5-twinning-project)