Good news for southwest Saskatchewan drivers.

It was announced a few weeks ago at the Southwest Transportation Planning Council Inc.'s AGM, that Highway 4 south of Cadillac has been approved to be reconstructed this year.

The area of Highway 4 being rebuilt will start at the village of Cadillac and work its way towards the U.S. border, covering a 29.4 kilometre stretch of roadway.

"That's great news," said John Parker, a Representative for Economic Development on the Southwest Transportation Planning Committee. "We consider it as a major trade corridor. Speaking with the people at the Department of Highways, they recognized it needs to be upgraded for safety reasons and also for trade with our major partner down in the United States."

The improved highway once completed would give transport trucks better access to the southwest part of the province without having to detour to Sweetgrass border crossing in Alberta.

"It cuts out considerable mileage, up to 660 kilometres round trip for some of the truckers that bring goods and services up from the south," Parker added. "The cost savings to them in the trucking industry should be significant."

Completion of this project would also mean that Highway 4 from Cadillac to the Border would be brought up 9-month primary weight.

"Highway 4 will be upgraded to a much safer situation," Parker stated. "The ultimate goal will then be a lot easier to do improvements as they do on other highways as traffic increases and requires different kinds of surfacing."

This year's construction is expected to begin shortly to complete phase one of three. The other two phases of the project have yet to be approved by the government.