Saskatchewan Highway 32
Encyclopedia
Highway 32 is a highway in southwestern Saskatchewan
, connecting Leader
and Swift Current. It is about 140 km (87 mi) long, connecting several rural communities along the route including Abbey
, Cabri
, Cantaur and Success
.
in 1913. The late 1920s and 1930s saw the automobile arrive to a few families in the area.
In 2005, 10.1 kilometers were resurfaced. Construction work began at on highway 32 at the entrance to Success
and continued west for 10.1 km. Wheel ruts and surface detoriation were levelled and filled and a microsurface treatment was put into place to restore resistance to skidding.
The highway has become infamous for its extremely poor condition, which can primarily be attributed to a substandard pavement design (not built for heavy truck
s in the mostly agricultural
and oil
-producing area) and claims of lack of maintenance. The condition of the route is so bad that ambulance
s are avoiding the route as much as possible.
On May 17, 2006, Southwest TV News produced a three part series regarding the highway and its road condition. A Letter of understanding
(LOU) was signed by twenty two southwest towns, municipalities and government offices.
In 2006, 29 kilometers of highway 32 were converted to a gravel road to alleviate the asphalt surface potholes. Residents lobbying for highway repairs published a "Pothole of the Month" calendar, "I Survived Highway 32" bumper stickers and a billboard was erected on the roadside. The Leader ambulance travels on another route 1/2 hour longer to the Regional Hospital in Swift Current because of bad road conditions.
Action Southwest, Area Transportation Planning Council (ATPC), Department of Highways, Highway 37
partnership and Highway 32 partnership came together to resolve the transportation problems and it was decided to undertake Action Southwest has appointed a transportation study steering committee as well as two consulting firms to monitor progress.
"Thin-membrane" highways are secondary routes providing a dust-free surface, but were never engineered for heavy truck traffic. Heavy trucks need to be rerouted to refurbished routes designed for truck traffice said Highways Minister Eldon Lautermilch. Saskatchewan comprises 6,400 kilometres of thin-membrane highway.
From the southwest to the northeast of Cabri
14.2 kilometrewas resurfaced in the summer of 2007 a part of Phase I Saskatchewan Highways and Infrastructure's 2008 Tender Release.
Highways and Transportation Minister Pat Atkinson allocated $1 million in the spring of 2001. Summer crews re-surfaces 6.5 kilometers beginning 5 kilometers west of Cabri and further westerly. This repair would now handle heavier truck loads on the route.
At a cost of $31,8 million, the 56 km stretch of the Highway between Shackleton
and Prelate was upgraded from thin membrane surface (TMS) road to a fully structural paved road designed for full regular highway traffic. This work started on May 4, 2009 and was completed on October 13, 2010.
allocated land along the rail line for the village of Prussia, and soon the RCMP
and immigrants arrived to the area. During World War I
, the village was renamed to Leader
. Along the highway is the village of Sceptre
, which hosts The Great Sandhills Museum, metal wheat sculpture, and is the gateway to the great sandhills of Saskatchewan. Lemsford, Portreeve, Shackleton
and Battrum
are now considered ghost towns of Saskatchewan. The village
of Lancer
features the Lancer museum which hosts the history of the area, homestead artifacts and a couple of models of the Lancer. George Jaegli was the sculptor who built the 21 foot high Chokecherry Cluster at Lancer. Abbey
is a village
of 130 residents.
The town
of Cabri
is located at the junction of Highway 32 and Highway 37
and features oversized goose, antelope and wheat sculptures. To the south on the South Saskatchewan River
is the Cabri Regional Park. Southwest Saskatchewan is home to Saskatchewan's first oil fields, and the Fosterton Oilfield Museum at Cabri commemorates this history of the area. The village
of Success
is home to 40 residents along Highway 32. In 2006, a 5.3 cubic foot gas storage facility was constructed at Cantuar. The intersection of Highway 332
is to the south of Cantuar.
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, connecting Leader
Leader, Saskatchewan
Leader is a town in southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada, located approximately 350 km directly east of Calgary, Alberta and is near the border between Saskatchewan and Alberta. It has a population of 881 as of 2006.-History:...
and Swift Current. It is about 140 km (87 mi) long, connecting several rural communities along the route including Abbey
Abbey, Saskatchewan
-Geography:Abbey is located south of the South Saskatchewan River and north of The Great Sand Hills.-Area statistics:*Lat 50° 44' 00" N*Long 108° 45' 00" W...
, Cabri
Cabri, Saskatchewan
The town of Cabri is situated in Southwest Saskatchewan, directly north of Gull Lake and north-west of Swift Current. The word "Cabri", a French word used by the French voyageurs at the time of the fur trade, means "Antelope"...
, Cantaur and Success
Success, Saskatchewan
-Notables:*Bridget Moran...
.
History
The first travel in this area was by foot, and two wheeled ox cart and horse drawn freight wagon using trails on the sod. The first train arrived in LancerLancer, Saskatchewan
-External links:*********-Footnotes:...
in 1913. The late 1920s and 1930s saw the automobile arrive to a few families in the area.
Maintenance
The winter of 2000 saw 6.4 resurfaced on this highway. The road west of Cabri to the east of Shackleton was repaired.In 2005, 10.1 kilometers were resurfaced. Construction work began at on highway 32 at the entrance to Success
Success, Saskatchewan
-Notables:*Bridget Moran...
and continued west for 10.1 km. Wheel ruts and surface detoriation were levelled and filled and a microsurface treatment was put into place to restore resistance to skidding.
The highway has become infamous for its extremely poor condition, which can primarily be attributed to a substandard pavement design (not built for heavy truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s in the mostly agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
-producing area) and claims of lack of maintenance. The condition of the route is so bad that ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
s are avoiding the route as much as possible.
On May 17, 2006, Southwest TV News produced a three part series regarding the highway and its road condition. A Letter of understanding
Letter of understanding
A Letter of Understanding or LOU is a formal text that sums up the terms and understanding of a contract which mostly has been negotiated up to this point only in spoken form...
(LOU) was signed by twenty two southwest towns, municipalities and government offices.
In 2006, 29 kilometers of highway 32 were converted to a gravel road to alleviate the asphalt surface potholes. Residents lobbying for highway repairs published a "Pothole of the Month" calendar, "I Survived Highway 32" bumper stickers and a billboard was erected on the roadside. The Leader ambulance travels on another route 1/2 hour longer to the Regional Hospital in Swift Current because of bad road conditions.
Action Southwest, Area Transportation Planning Council (ATPC), Department of Highways, Highway 37
Saskatchewan Highway 37
Highway 37 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from Montana Secondary Highway 241 at the US border near Port of Climax to Highway 32 near Cabri. Highway 37 is about 188 km long. This north south route connects with the horseshoe tourism route at Shunavon...
partnership and Highway 32 partnership came together to resolve the transportation problems and it was decided to undertake Action Southwest has appointed a transportation study steering committee as well as two consulting firms to monitor progress.
"Thin-membrane" highways are secondary routes providing a dust-free surface, but were never engineered for heavy truck traffic. Heavy trucks need to be rerouted to refurbished routes designed for truck traffice said Highways Minister Eldon Lautermilch. Saskatchewan comprises 6,400 kilometres of thin-membrane highway.
From the southwest to the northeast of Cabri
Cabri, Saskatchewan
The town of Cabri is situated in Southwest Saskatchewan, directly north of Gull Lake and north-west of Swift Current. The word "Cabri", a French word used by the French voyageurs at the time of the fur trade, means "Antelope"...
14.2 kilometrewas resurfaced in the summer of 2007 a part of Phase I Saskatchewan Highways and Infrastructure's 2008 Tender Release.
Highways and Transportation Minister Pat Atkinson allocated $1 million in the spring of 2001. Summer crews re-surfaces 6.5 kilometers beginning 5 kilometers west of Cabri and further westerly. This repair would now handle heavier truck loads on the route.
At a cost of $31,8 million, the 56 km stretch of the Highway between Shackleton
Shackleton, Saskatchewan
Shackleton is a community in Saskatchewan....
and Prelate was upgraded from thin membrane surface (TMS) road to a fully structural paved road designed for full regular highway traffic. This work started on May 4, 2009 and was completed on October 13, 2010.
Communities
The Great Sandhills are located to the south of Highway 32, and the South Saskatchewan river runs to the north of Highway 32. The CPRCanadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
allocated land along the rail line for the village of Prussia, and soon the RCMP
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
and immigrants arrived to the area. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the village was renamed to Leader
Leader, Saskatchewan
Leader is a town in southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada, located approximately 350 km directly east of Calgary, Alberta and is near the border between Saskatchewan and Alberta. It has a population of 881 as of 2006.-History:...
. Along the highway is the village of Sceptre
Sceptre, Saskatchewan
Sceptre is a village in southwestern Saskatchewan, with a population of 99 as of the 2006 census.The former school was reopened in 1988 as the Great Sandhills Museum, with exhibits showcasing the area's natural and human history....
, which hosts The Great Sandhills Museum, metal wheat sculpture, and is the gateway to the great sandhills of Saskatchewan. Lemsford, Portreeve, Shackleton
Shackleton, Saskatchewan
Shackleton is a community in Saskatchewan....
and Battrum
Battrum, Saskatchewan
Battrum is a hamlet in Saskatchewan....
are now considered ghost towns of Saskatchewan. The village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
of Lancer
Lancer, Saskatchewan
-External links:*********-Footnotes:...
features the Lancer museum which hosts the history of the area, homestead artifacts and a couple of models of the Lancer. George Jaegli was the sculptor who built the 21 foot high Chokecherry Cluster at Lancer. Abbey
Abbey, Saskatchewan
-Geography:Abbey is located south of the South Saskatchewan River and north of The Great Sand Hills.-Area statistics:*Lat 50° 44' 00" N*Long 108° 45' 00" W...
is a village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
of 130 residents.
The town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
of Cabri
Cabri, Saskatchewan
The town of Cabri is situated in Southwest Saskatchewan, directly north of Gull Lake and north-west of Swift Current. The word "Cabri", a French word used by the French voyageurs at the time of the fur trade, means "Antelope"...
is located at the junction of Highway 32 and Highway 37
Saskatchewan Highway 37
Highway 37 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from Montana Secondary Highway 241 at the US border near Port of Climax to Highway 32 near Cabri. Highway 37 is about 188 km long. This north south route connects with the horseshoe tourism route at Shunavon...
and features oversized goose, antelope and wheat sculptures. To the south on the South Saskatchewan River
South Saskatchewan River
The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan....
is the Cabri Regional Park. Southwest Saskatchewan is home to Saskatchewan's first oil fields, and the Fosterton Oilfield Museum at Cabri commemorates this history of the area. The village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
of Success
Success, Saskatchewan
-Notables:*Bridget Moran...
is home to 40 residents along Highway 32. In 2006, a 5.3 cubic foot gas storage facility was constructed at Cantuar. The intersection of Highway 332
Saskatchewan Highway 332
Highway 332 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from Highway 633 near Hazlet until Highway 32. Highway 332 is about 43 km long.-History:...
is to the south of Cantuar.