The timing couldn鈥檛 have been any better.
CAA Saskatchewan released the final results for its worst roads contest last week, and two highways in the Torquay area, Highway 18 and Highway 350, were in the top 10.
Resurfacing has recently started on Highway 18 west of the village. The timing is obviously coincidental; the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure isn鈥檛 going to suddenly move in and start repairs on a highway just because it appeared in the top 10 of the Worst Roads campaign. There鈥檚 a pretty lengthy process from when a highway first appears on the ministry鈥檚 priority list, to when the work is actually started.
But it is amusing to see the resurfacing begin around the same time that Highway 18 found itself on the Worst Roads list.
There鈥檚 no doubt that Highway 18 from Estevan to Oungre needs to be resurfaced. It鈥檚 a beat-up road, and it forces motorists to keep their speeds down. But there are stretches of Highway 18 west of Oungre that are in worse shape, and there are highways in southeast Saskatchewan in greater need of a makeover.
Highway 47 south of Estevan and north of Stoughton are in worse shape. Highways 318 and 361 in the Alida area have been in worse shape, although efforts have begun to improve that highway.
As for Highway 350 south of Torquay, it鈥檚 hard to imagine many highways in the province in worse shape. It鈥檚 a 15-kilometre goat path that ends at a Canada-U.S. border crossing.
Nothing says 鈥淲elcome to Canada鈥� quite like one of the worst roads in the province. Unfortunately, it鈥檚 not the only provincial highway with a Canada-U.S. border crossing that is in terrible shape. There are others, including Highway 47 south of Estevan, that leave a bad first impression with visitors from the U.S.
At the same time, how do you justify spending millions of dollars on a highway like No. 350 that, according to the 2016 provincial traffic volume map, has less than 200 vehicles per day?
Those who don鈥檛 use Highway 350 will tell you there are more pressing concerns in Saskatchewan than a highway with so little traffic.
It鈥檚 been rare to see a local highway crack the top 10 of the Worst Roads list. We might complain about the condition of some of the highways in the area, but most are in pretty good shape. And so they should be. Not only is there a lot of traffic on our highways, but those highways also have a lot of heavy trucks.
But there are some highways in need of repairs.
It鈥檚 also interesting to note the presence of five municipal roads on this year鈥檚 Worst Roads list. Fortunately, no Estevan roads made the top-10, although you could make a case for some of our industrial roads.
Three of the worst roads are in Moose Jaw, including High Street West, which finished first.
Interestingly, Sidney Street in Maple Creek cracked the top 10, even though it is a community with 2,500 people.
The Worst Roads contest always makes for interesting reading, especially now that municipal roads are included. It shouldn鈥檛 be viewed as a definitive ranking, but it鈥檚 something that governments should be paying attention to.
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