Province begins prep work on service roads in Swift Current

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways has begun preliminary work on North Service Road East in Swift Current.

Recently they completed a drilling program on all of the service roads in the city, collecting soil and asphalt samples.

Geotechnical testing is the next step for the dilapidated road that spans 1.9 kilometres from Highway 4 to Central Avenue North. According to the Ministry of Highways, this testing will provide better insight into the strength of the underlying soil and aid the future rebuild design of these roads including North Service Road East.

The roads maintenance currently belong to the provincial government, but that will be transferred to the City once they're rebuilt. Under the province's Urban Highway Connector Program, Swift Current will receive just over $16,000 in the 2024-25 fiscal year to maintain the service roads. This grant will continue until the Ministry of Highways rebuilds them.

Currently, there is no timeline for when a design will be constructed or when any of the roads will be rebuilt.

Last year the City stated the only costs they could potentially incur for a construction project on the roads would be adding additional turning lanes or pedestrian access.