Gateway Keewatin Corridor | Road improvements would give farmers in northeastern Sask. access to Port of Churchill
NIPAWIN, Sask. — Farmers and business owners in northeastern Saskatchewan and northwestern Manitoba continue to push for an all-season, dust-free, primary weight highway between Nipawin and The Pas, Man.
Members of the Gateway Keewatin Corridor committee say grain farmers and other businesses in the region are missing out on significant economic opportunities because existing roads that link the two communities are rough, narrow and unable to accommodate heavy truck traffic for much of the year.
Heavy trucks can use the roads during the winter but not when seasonal weight restrictions are in place.
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Advocates of the Gateway Keewatin Corridor say the roads, if upgraded, would serve as a key trade route to The Pas, where Hudson Bay Railway has track that leads to the Port of Churchill in northern Manitoba.
During a recent presentation at the Hudson Bay Route Association’s annual meeting in Nipawin, members of the Gateway Keewatin Corridor committee said road upgrades would spur economic activity in the area, create jobs and increase the amount of rail traffic that moves through the Churchill.
An upgraded highway would not only move more local products such as grain and wood but also provide an important link to other areas in northern Saskatchewan, northern Alberta and British Columbia.
“Really what we’re talking about is project economics,” said committee member Chris Hudyma.
Grain farmers in northeastern Saskatchewan would be among the first to benefit.
An upgraded trucking route would allow farmers from northeastern Saskatchewan to haul grain directly to the HBR railhead at The Pas.
OmniTrax Canada, which owns the Port of Churchill and the HBR, has told the committee it would like to move a million tonnes of grain through the Port of Churchill each year.
“I think we can do it,” Hudyma said.
“We can do it through road and we can do it through rail. What we’ve got to do is get it moved fairly fast from the farmgate to tidewaters.”
Members of the Gateway Keewatin Corridor committee have been lobbying for several years for provincial funding to perform the necessary upgrades.
The current route between Nipawin and The Pas covers 210 kilometres on three provincial highways.
Highway 283 in Manitoba covers 40 kilometres from The Pas to the Sask-atchewan border, while Highways 9 and 55 on the Saskatchewan side cover the remaining 170 km.
Len Gluska, president of the Gateway Keewatin Corridor group, said weight limitations are a key concern for truckers who use the route.
Heavy trucks from northeastern Saskatchewan are forced to travel an extra 700 km to The Pas when summer weight restrictions come into effect on Highways 55 and 9.
“We’re talking about the economic benefits of upgrading this highway, but right now what exists in our economy is an economic deficit, created by a lack of roads,” said Gluska.
“That demonstrates the importance of it.”
The committee received positive news from the Manitoba government April 4 when it unveiled a five-year, $55 million highway improvement package, including significant upgrades to Highway 283 between The Pas and the Saskatchewan border and Highway 10 south of The Pas toward Swan River, Man.
Expected improvements to Highway 283 will accommodate heavy truck traffic 12 months a year between The Pas and the Saskatchewan border.
However, significant improvements will still be required on the Saskatchewan side.
The Gateway Keewatin group estimates that the necessary upgrades in Saskatchewan will cost $70 million.
“Approximately $70 million on the Saskatchewan side completes this … whole northern corridor,” said Nipawin town councillor Mike Botterill.
“We heard … from the minister from Manitoba that there was a commitment on the Manitoba side…. I guess what we’re trying to do now … is make sure we get the Saskatchewan commitment to finish the Sask-atchewan side to complete this corridor.”
Highway 55 is part of an interprovincial road system known as the Northern Woods and Water Route, which begins in Winnipeg and eventually connects with the McKenzie Highway in northern Alberta near Grimshaw.
