There is a song by Corb Lund called “Roughest Neck Around,” however CAA Saskatchewan is looking for the roughest road around. The annual CAA Worst Road contest is back for another year.
“We do share the results with those who are responsible for maintaining and repairing – municipal and provincial governments,” explained Christine Niemcyzk of CAA Saskatchewan. “We also share with a lot of stakeholders (like) SARM (Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities) and SUMA (Saskatchewan Association of Urban Municipalities), even the folks who build the roads, the Saskatchewan heavy Construction Association, to let them know that these roads (the top ten) for this year and the previous years have been deemed unsafe.”
Saskatchewan has over 250,000km of roads to maintain, which means the province has the greatest length of roads compared to any other province in Canada. Because of this, highways often get neglected while other roads get priority repairs.
“For a lot of Saskatchewan communities these roads are their lifeline. They rely on those roads to keep them and their families safe, noted Niemcyzk.
This year’s contest will include a $1000 Shell gift card as a prize courtesy of CAA Saskatchewan for all those who nominated a Saskatchewan road.
“We’d love to hear from all road users, whether you’re a passenger, a motorist, a cycler, or you’re a pedestrian – if that road is a safety concern for you, and for all of us, you have from April 9th to 29th to tell us,” Niemcyzk said.
According to CAA Saskatchewan, criteria includes potholes, crumbling pavement, poor infrastructure, congestion, no traffic signs, and no cycling lanes – basically anything that makes you as a road user feel unsafe when travelling. Last year’s worst road in Saskatchewan was highway 44 near Eston, followed by no. 30 at Eston due to potholes. The remining top 10 last year included Coteau Street West in Moose Jaw, Highway 13 at Redvers, no. 5 at Buchanan, Butte Street in Pilot Butte, no. 9 at Whitewood, no. 123 near Pemmican Portage, no. 9 near Hudson Bay, and no. 35 at White Fox.
CLICK HERE to nominate and vote for Saskatchewan’s worst road.
