Speed limit dropped on dangerous stretch of highway east of Regina
Project to roll out in mid-October
In an effort to ramp up safety along a dangerous stretch of highway east of Regina and near the communities of Pilot Butte, White City and Emerald Park, the provincial government has announced another speed limit reduction and a new service road to be built.
The speed limit will be cut to 80 kilometres per hour, starting in mid-October, in effect from Balgonie to Regina.
A new service road will be south of Pilot Butte, giving drivers from White City and Emerald Park an alternate route to Regina, avoiding turning onto Highway 1 to get into the city.
Doug Wakabayashi, executive director for the province's highway and infrastructure ministry, said the service road will connect with the access road south of Pilot Butte, and then continue west to Tower Road, at which it'll run adjacent to Tower Road, connecting with Highway 33.
The service road is expected to be open to traffic in 2017, he said.
Wakabayashi also confirmed there will be a service road built on the north side of Highway 1, although construction work will first begin on the south side service road.
He said the consistent speed limit will now address what he called a "mishmash of speed limits — 110, 90 and 100 kilometres per hour" currently in place.
The highway has been the scene of several crashes over the years, and residents have been calling for more safety measures, like traffic lights, because of the increasing commuter traffic.
It's not the first time the government has tried to make the route safer. It's added more signs, turning lanes and speed enforcement in the past.
Wakabayashi reiterated the government's position that traffic signals will not be installed along the busy roadway. Overpasses at Balgonie and White City are the long-term solutions to safety concerns there.
As part of the larger Regina bypass project, overpasses at White City and Balgonie will be completed the fall of 2017, while an overpass for access to Pilot Butte will be completed in the fall of 2019.
