It was a busy first month for the largest transportation infrastructure project in Saskatchewan's history.

After four years of construction, the Regina bypass opened on Oct. 29 and is now seeing an average of just over 5,600 vehicles a day.

Highways and Infrastructure Minister Greg Ottenbreit said in a release, 

"We are encouraged to see many people benefitting from the bypass in the first weeks of full operation. The improved safety and efficiency of the project for people travelling in the Regina area are great, and we are excited to see even more traffic use the route as people familiarize themselves with the new infrastructure."

Each transport truck that chooses the bypass is a heavy vehicle that previously drove through Regina city streets.

It's estimated the bypass will reduce fuel consumption by nearly 300 million litres over 30 years, resulting in a 1.5 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Ottenbreit said later in the release that the bypass is a good segway into the next growth plan.

"The opening of the Regina bypass is the perfect way to close out our government’s previous growth plan and pave the way toward our next growth plan for 2030."

The Government of Saskatchewan has invested more than $9 billion in transportation infrastructure since 2008.