Clearing the Path Primary
Weight Corridor Program
SARM and MHI conducting a program audit
By Terry E. Hoeving, Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities
The Clearing the Path Primary Weight Corridor Program
(CTP) was developed to address the lack of prima-ry
weight roads on the municipal system, while com-plimenting
the existing system of provincial primary weight roads.
Rural municipalities (RMs) with approved CTPs receive incremen-tal
funding for the maintenance of a road to a primary weight status.
The program has proven to be very successful as there are currently
6,598.5 km of CTP primary weight corridors in the province.
In the 12 years of the CTP, program benefits include attracting
resource- and agriculture-based economic generators to rural
Saskatchewan, providing a primary weight network for indus-try
to move their goods seamlessly throughout the province, na-tionally
and internationally; and protecting the provincial thin
membrane surface (TMS) roads that have well outlived their
service life.
Current CTP criteria:
A CTP corridor describes a municipal roadway that:
• Is able to carry primary weight traffic
• Connects one primary weight road/highway to another
• Is at least 15 km from a parallel primary weight road/highway
• Allows primary weight traffic in and out of a land-locked area
over 20 km (i.e., a river or valley).
SARM and the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure (MHI)
are currently conducting a CTP Program Audit. While serving the
province well, the CTP was developed for the economic climate at
the time and may not be an accurate reflection of today’s industry-based
economic generators, large capacity trucks and increased pri-mary
weight truck traffic. The audit is being conducted to ensure
that the CTP grant funding program is making strategic financial
investments in the province that are reflective of the increase and
shifting of industry in rural Saskatchewan.
SARM and MHI will begin to view the provincial highway and
municipal road systems as one network. How can each system best
complement each other? One example would be to rehabilitate an
existing poor condition TMS to a secondary weight status for high
volumes of light vehicle traffic, while routing the primary weight
traffic to the municipal system. The rehabs on the provincial sys-tem
would be to provide a safe, dust free, smooth driving surface.
Keeping the primary weight on the municipal system would protect
the provincial interest and provide a reliable network for industry
to carry increased weights and safely move people and services in a
seamless timely manner.
As a user of the CTP network, do you have any areas of the prov-ince
that are difficult to move at primary weights? Please email any
suggested locations to thoeving@sarm.ca.
Bulk haul agreements with industry
Bulk haul agreements between industry and RMs are allowed as the
CTP funding is incremental.
Reminder of the changes to
the nine-month primary
In July 2017, the Government of Saskatchewan announced changes
to implementation of nine-month primary highways. The new pol-icy
change takes into account the climatic differences in the north
and the south of the province while also maintaining the original
intent of providing primary weight access for economic activities.
In the north of the province, the annual weight increase on the
nine-month primary highways will remain unchanged, from July 1
to March 31 of the following year. In the south of the province, the
annual weight increase on the nine-month primary highways will
occur earlier, from June 15 to March 15 of the following year.
Terry E. Hoeving is the programs manager infrastructure
and infrastructure committee advisor at the
Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities.
As a user of the CTP network, do you have any areas of the
province that are difficult to move at primary weights?
Please email any suggested locations to thoeving@sarm.ca.
32 Think BIG | Quarter 2 2018 | saskheavy.ca
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