Road Through Pelican Narrows To Be Paved

Road Through Pelican Narrows To Be Paved

Monday, August 27, 2007 at 16:56

 

 

The province is investing $3 million to improve transportation links in the Deschambault Lake and Pelican Narrows regions.

 

Preliminary design and testing work is now underway in preparation for the paving of seven kilometres of Highway 135 through Pelican Narrows.

 

The work is expected to cost more than a couple of million dollars and will see the addition of a layer of blacktop over the current gravel road.

 

Before that happens, the province says decisions still have to be made regarding the amount of bedrock that may need to be blasted, and the drainage structures that will have to be built.

 

Meanwhile, construction will soon get underway on a 1 million-dollar project to upgrade 8.5 km of the 31-km gravel access road into Deschambault Lake.

 

Some sections of the highway will receive spot improvements, while other low-level sections will receive more material to prevent flooding.

 

Work is expected to get underway within the week and wrap up by the end of this construction season.

 

The work will be completed through a partnership between the Deschambault Lake economic development arm and a road-building contractor in Shipman, Saskatchewan.

 

Up to 25 workers will be employed in this project, with the majority coming from Deschambault Lake.

 

Highways Minister Buckley Belanger says agreements like this are helping his department deal with the shortage of available contractors.

 

Belanger also suggests other northern communities, such as Sandy Bay, would have an easier time securing government funding if they copied the approach Deschambault Lake has used.

 

He adds the Pelican Narrows project may not proceed until 2008 because of its complexity, but he insists the work is a priority for his department.