Nearly 13 million dollars worth of roadwork has been completed in the Rocanville area.

The project saw more than 30 kilometres of Highways 8 and 308 resurfaced over the spring and summer of 2021.

Highways Minister Fred Bradshaw credited Moosomin MLA Steven Bonk for his persistence in raising the project on the priority list.

“He lobbied hard for this project and kept on coming into the office and saying, ‘We need it’” Bradshaw said of Bonk. “Sask. Highways went out and looked at it and agreed with it, so that’s how it ended up being that high.”

Bradshaw discussed how roadwork projects such as this are prioritized. He says they consider the economic feasibility of the project as well as traffic counts and listening to fellow MLA’s who are advocating for the projects.

Bonk says the upgrades will give a boost to the local economy in Rocanville and the surrounding area.

“With the Nutrien mine here, which is employing a lot of people, we have the oil field that’s back up-and-going not to full-strength but it’s really picked up in the last year, as well as the manufacturing that we have in this area.

Infrastructure is vitally important and as you know a minimum 3-to-1 return on any infrastructure project is what you can expect so it’s a very good investment.” Bonk said.

Funding for the Highway 8 portion came from the Ministry of Highway’s rehabilitation program, while the money for the resurfacing on Highway 308 came from the stimulus program announced by the province, in May of 2020.

(CJGX