Mining Industry Wants Upgrades To Northern Roads

Mining Industry Wants Upgrades To Northern Roads

Tuesday, June 08, 2010 at 15:13

Some concerns are being voiced about the future of mining in northern Saskatchewan if road improvements don’t happen soon.

Saskatchewan Mining Association executive director Pam Schwann says upgrades to a highway north of La Ronge, as well as one leading to Key Lake and McArthur River, are definitely needed.

She says $43 billion will be poured into Saskatchewan mines over the next 20 years, and the government should use some of that to get the job done.

Northern Resource Trucking vice-president Dave McIlmoyl he wants to see Highways 905 and 102 paved before things get any worse.

He says not enough blading and surfacing work is going into the all-weather gravel the roads are constructed of, and it is making things tough for truck drivers and tourists.

McIlmoyl says he has seen drivers suffer broken axles and have their tailgates shaken off — on top of having to pass big trucks on narrow roadways.

He says if they don’t get fixed, mining companies could lose the desire to continue doing business in the region.