Summer has officially arrived, and construction work is in full swing across the province, including in the southeast.

That said, the Southeast Transportation Planning Committee has been busy and will continue to be, as they perform their advisory role hand in hand with the Saskatchewan government.

"Right now, we already have the go ahead for some work on Highway 48, 39, 47, Number 1 and 361. Those are all in our territory. The one that we are working on right now is Number 9 from Junction 13 to 48, it has needed an overlay for some time now," shared Dennis Moore, who is a member of the STPC.

"Then we need to pay some attention to 47, because we don't have many north-south highways that are usable 12 months of the year, and that particular one gets in rough shape after any rainfall."

He added that number 8 south of Redvers and a partnership with area RM's on 361 near Alida are all in the works as well.

"The other priorities that we have are Highway 18 from Estevan to Highway 35, Highway 381 to the Highway 18 Junction of 361, and Highway 48 from Fairlight to the Manitoba border. Those are on our wishlist, and if we can get three of the major ones done we'll be happy with that."

The completion of the Highway 39 twinning is also high on their to-do list.

Moore noted that highway work mentioned will be mostly all asphalt work, a 'shave and pave' operation where a layer is taken off and then fresh blacktop is put down. The rebuilding of the shoulders is also a part of the job.

"Another thing that has happened a lot lately is we've lost a lot of our signs, they're laying in the ditch and we've only got two crews in the area that works on putting those back up and getting them in shape. Some people probably wonder why it takes so long, but it's all to do with manpower. We're continuing to work on that, as well as line painting."

In addition, he said that they are working with less money this year, so they are trying to keep focused on the priorities, of which he points to Highway 47 up to Grenfell as number one on the list.

"We need that road for the movement of our goods and services. For instance, in the Estevan area, we're probably losing out more than we think we are because we just haven't got a good surface to move stuff on."

Looking back at the previous few months, Moore noted that it was generally positive, and gazing ahead he observed that the group is in good shape.

"One thing that's exciting right now, and it's working pretty well, is the partnership between the RM's and the Ministry of Highways. It's a good way to get things done if you can get RM's on-side, and that's something that hadn't happened before. Everybody realizes what kind of a crunch we're in for dollars, so if you've got a couple kilometers that have not been corrected over the years, and it's costing lots of money to maintain, then the RM's get together with the Ministry and come up with some kind of formula so they can clear things up."

The STPC is also in some discussions regarding Highway 39, according to Moore, whether or not to install passing lanes along the route.

"You can't do too much hollering when there are no funds to do something, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see what comes out."