LA LOCHE, SASK. — The Garson Lake Road project in northern Saskatchewan has arrived at a milestone with the completion of part of the Saskatchewan portion of the La Loche to Fort McMurray all-weather road.
The remaining nearly 10 kilometres of Highway 956 in Saskatchewan from near Garson Lake heading west to the Alberta border is near completion because of a more than $9 million provincial Ministry of Highways project, a release said.
“This is a great day for northern Saskatchewan as our provincial government follows through on its commitment to this important project. Saskatchewan recognizes the need to continue to work with Alberta on completing this vital economic and transportation link for northern residents in these two Western provinces,” Athabasca MLA Jim Lamaigre said in the release.
Construction on the 9.8 kilometre segment began at end of August 2023, and work involved grading and placing traffic gravel.
The road between La Loche and Fort McMurray was initially announced as a project to commemorate the two province’s centennials in 2005, the release said, and Saskatchewan broke ground on Highway 956, its portion of the project, in 2007, and completed 44 of the total 53 kilometres in 2008.