Highway 39 Twinning Project: On Budget and On Time

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways, in conjunction with the Federal government, is spending 27.2 Million Dollars on a huge project just East of Estevan on Highway 39.

"It's going to be about nine kilometers of new road that will be going in to double-lane the highway between Estevan and Bienfait," explains Mary Panteluk, HR Specialist with Kelly Panteluk Construction Ltd (KPCL). "Additionally, we'll be building a new overpass in a different location for the coal trucks to be able to pass underneath." 

On-road construction started earlier this spring in May.  The 3 pronged project will consist of twinning a section of Highway 39, building a new overpass for the coal haul road, as well as re-locating the Highway 39 & Highway 18 Junction to better suit the flow of the road.

The first phase of the project began in late May 2016.  Construction of the twinned highway to date has included grading and building the sub base of the new lanes. 

"Surfacing structure materials will start to be placed next year," says Mike Smith, project manager for the Ministry of Highways, "sand will be base for water drainage, sub-base is sand and aggregate together, and then it will be asphalt concrete on top.   We compact in layers as we build up." Smith also confirms,  "construction went very well this year and everything is on schedule to be completed by the end of 2017."

Sub-grade road construction was finished this year for the twinning phase, and over the winter months, the new bridge overpass work will be completed farther southeast on Highway 39.  The current bridge overpass that allows the coal transfer road to move beneath the highway, will be brought down to sub grade with the rest of the road. 

The second prong of the project is constructing a new overpass over the new coal transfer road. The need for the coal transfer for road to be moved has come about by the location of the current mines. Years ago, when the mines were farther West, towards the city, the current coal transfer road perfectly linked the mine with the power plant, but today, the mines have moved East, away from the city of Estevan.

"The new coal transfer road placement will allow for higher efficiencies, and reduce the carbon footprint of these large trucks that haul the coal," Says Kelly Pantelunk, President of KPCL. 

The third and final opportunity for development in this project is the relocation of the Hwy 39 & 18 junction.  

"The current junction is on a curve, from a safety stand point is not good for it," says Mike Smith, Ministry of Highways Project Manager for Highway 39, "so we thought that we had a good opportunity during this project to re-align this junction."

Below: a diagram of what the new junction of HWY 39 & 18 will look like.

The junction of Highway 39 & 18 east of Estevan near Bienfait will also be re-aligned to a 90 degree angle.  This portion of the project will start with environmental studies to relocate any water fowl or habitats that may be effected by this major intersection moving.  KPCL is making sure everything is cleared out late this year so, when the water fowl return in the spring, the construction of the re-aligned junction will not destroy any of their habitat.