(Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Road safety

Town applying for funding to increase safety on Highway 4 at two busy intersections

Sep 24, 2020 | 3:17 PM

The Town of Battleford hopes to receive some funding through a provincial grant to improve safety on Highway 4.

The town will apply for over $70,000 in funding through the Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) Provincial Traffic Safety Fund Grant program.

The project would involve installing two prepare-to-stop-when-flashing (PTSWF) signals on Highway 4 – one south of 29 Street, and one north of 22 Street and Highway 40.

Mayor Ames Leslie said there is a safety issue. If large trucks are given a warning to slow down sooner, he said, hopefully the vehicles will be able to reduce their speed adequately before coming to the intersections.

“We’ve had a lot of feedback from residents asking if we could change that,” Leslie said. “Hopefully, this grant will allow us to do that.”

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The estimated total cost of the project is $72,300. Of that amount, $65,727 will pay for the supply and installation of both lights. A 10 per cent contingency amount of $6,573 is included in case any unforseen added costs arise.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of the year if the town receives the funding for it.

The proposal indicates Can-Traffic Services Ltd. of Sherwood Park, Alta. has committed to complete the work.

The town will be responsible for any long-term maintenance and repair work needed for the future.

According to the town’s Acting CAO David Gillan’s report, these two intersections themselves already have PTSWF lights. But there is about a one-kilometre distance between them where traffic speed could reach between 80 to 90 km/h.

“When you also consider the amount of heavy trucks on this highway, it makes the town intersection very dangerous, as higher speed roads require long braking distance,” Gillan said.

He added while Highway 4 is not the town’s road, it is dissecting the town at these two intersections, where it is “reasonably dangerous.”

The town reported information received from SGI revealed there were 21 collisions at or between these intersections for the period of 2015 to 2019.

The local law enforcement have been attempting to enforce safety at the intersections.

The town fire department, local RCMP and Ministry of Highways are providing letters of support for the town’s proposal.

Coun. Doug Laing said the issue has been on the table a long time.

“[It’s been] a big ask from council for quite a few years,” he said. “So it’s great to see some progress here.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW