REGINA — Highways and grid roads in the Regina area will be affected by a large building move this week, and drivers are encouraged to seek alternate routes.
Neufeld Building Movers will transport a large log home and garage over about 200 kilometres from a site south of Lajord to one west of Strasbourg.
Updates on the move can be found on the Highway Hotline’s Facebook page here.
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It will begin Tuesday, March 3, around 8 a.m. and take four days. Portions of the move will occur on the TransCanada Highway and highways 10, 22 and 6.
President Kerry Neufeld said the larger building is about 60 feet wide, 80 feet long and 40 feet high, and while the company has moved heavier structures, this is a complex move.
“We’re just asking everyone to be patient with us,” he told reporters.
“And watch the highway hotline.”
The hotline will track the move in real time, and people should enable over-dimensional load viewing on their app or browser.
The company and SaskPower will work together to ensure detours are well-marked but drivers should expect delays.
Neufeld said the first day will see the buildings move from about 10 km south of Lajord up Grid 621, across Highway 33 and then across Highway 48. It will stop just south of the TransCanada.
Transport will continue the second day on Highway 1 heading west, and then north onto Highway 10.
“That little segment is going to be a couple of hours, maybe half an hour per turn,” he said.
From there, the move continues on Grid 734. He said that portion of the trip will be about 40 km, and drivers are well-advised to take a different route. Crews will stop just east of Highway 6 and park off the road for the night.
On the third day, most of the route is on Highway 6 and involves a lot of power lines. The highway will be closed for a period of time when the load moves through the Qu’Appelle Valley. Neufeld suggested people use a different route until at least 2 p.m..
At the Highway 22 turnoff, toward Earl Grey, the load will turn off for the night. The move will be completed on the fourth day, mainly on rural roads.
“We’ll have alternate options for the people that live out in that area,” Neufeld said.
“We expect to be completed there in a good time on Friday.”
He said 20 to 30 people will be involved in the move, including SaskPower staff and ATS workers to control traffic. Safety is a main priority, and there is an emergency protocol in place to allow emergency vehicles through.
People who want to watch portions of the move should steer clear and give the movers and SaskPower room to work, he said.
A short video of the move can be found on the Highway Hotline’s Facebook page, here.
Neufeld described this job as “on the higher end” of the company’s house moves.
“This move has it all. It’s heavy. It’s wide. It’s long. It’s going a long distance. The logistics, we’ve been working on this for 13 months just to give you an idea of the planning that’s gone into this move,” he said.
He also said the grid roads are clear and provide enough traction at this time of year.
“This week we’re looking at single digits. Minus five, minus 10 is ideal. The frozen roads are definitely a friend of ours for this move,” Neufeld said.
