The Ministry of Highways wants to hear from you on how to improve safety at four intersections along Highway 1 through Moose Jaw.  

The ministry has been conducting a corridor study and is now presenting options to improve safety at the intersections of 32nd Avenue Northwest, Ninth Avenue Northwest, Highway 2 and Thatcher Drive.  

“What we've done is we've put together some options for each of the four intersections, and we've laid it out on a website which is on saskatchewan.ca, and we want to hear people's thoughts on the proposed options,” said David Horth, director of communications for the Ministry of Highways.  

The intersection of Highway 1 and Ninth Avenue Northwest has been a long-time concern among residents. The intersection has seen nine property damages and 10 injury collisions in the past five years. According to the provincial government, the intersection averages 5,650 vehicles per day.  

The Ministry of Highways is presenting four different options to residents.  

The first option is a right-in/right-out intersection. This would mean traffic cannot cross the highway and left turns would be eliminated.  

The second option would be to install traffic lights. According to the study, it would involve reducing the speed limit from 80 km/h to 70 km/h. The highway would also shift south to look for more space between the highway and the North Service Road. The potential cost is between $8 to $12 million.  

Option three would be to install a roundabout. The speed limit would have to be reduced from 80 to 60 km/h on the approach and 30 km/h through the roundabout.  

The final option would be a partial cloverleaf so that traffic enters and exits the highway using ramps. The highway again would need to shift south and a bridge would be built to allow Ninth Avenue to pass underneath the highway. This option would be the most expensive with a price tag of $45 to $55 million. 

The intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 2 would look at options to avoid large trucks colliding with the overpass.  

The option the corridor study is looking at is a diamond interchange that would allow for traffic to enter and exit the highway using ramps. It would reduce the number of conflict points with Highway 1 from six to four.  

Finally, the study is looking at four different options for the intersection of Highway 1 and Thatcher Drive.  

The first option is to install traffic lights. In order to do so, the speed limit would need to be reduced from 100 km/h to 70 km/h.  

Option number two would be to create a roundabout. Similar to option one, the speed limit would need to be reduced to 60 km/h at the approach and 30 km/h through the roundabout.  

The third option would be a diamond interchange that would require an overpass. Traffic would enter and exit the highway using ramps.  

Horth said, once the ministry receives feedback on all of the options, they will come up with the preferred options for each intersection.  

“We'll share that with people again. We'll come back to them. We'll say these are the preferred options, and we'll let everyone take another look at it. We'll ask them to respond again with more feedback,” he said.  

You can find a link to the options and the survey here. The Ministry of Highways will be taking feedback until Feb. 12. 

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