The Government of Saskatchewan is considering putting in new passing lanes between Regina and Estevan.

They are still in the planning phase, but are hoping to get the ball rolling as soon as possible.

"We are looking at putting in passing lanes between Regina and Estevan," said David Marit, Minister of Highways and Infrastructure. "It will be a combination, there will be some segments in there where there will be some twinning. For the most part, the plan is that we will have passing lanes between Estevan and Regina."

Their goal is to focus on safety while being careful to not spend too much money.

"We can do the passing lanes in a matter of a few years, at a far less cost," added Marit. "At about 15 per cent of the cost of twinning. The accident ratio from passing lanes to twinning isn't really that great. You're looking at either a 35 per cent reduction on accidents on twinned highways, and we have a 25 per cent reduction on highway accidents once passing lanes are put into place."

The cost for twinning highways is far greater than the cost to put in passing lanes.

"We'll be able to put passing lanes in all of our five areas of Saskatchewan that are seeing expanded economic growth and transportation growth for a fraction of what it's gonna cost just to twin one segment," Marit said. "Mostly, it's how quickly we can deliver this to improve the safety on a very busy highway in the province of Saskatchewan."

The hope is that this will improve the state of the highways and increase safety for everyone driving on them.

Highway