SOD TURNING HELD FOR GRADING START ON HWY. 17 TO ONION LAKE

Released on June 21, 2000

A sod-turning celebration was held this morning to mark grading start on a 10.7

km stretch of Highway 17 south of Onion Lake.



"This project will have a positive impact on the residents of Onion Lake and

surrounding area. By next fall, they will have a paved surface to drive on,"

Highways and Transportation Minister Maynard Sonntag said.



Sonntag was joined by representatives from Alberta Infrastructure and the Onion

Lake First Nation to perform the sod-turning.



Grading work began last week on the project, which begins north of the Meridian

Bridge at the North Saskatchewan River and continues north to the community of

Onion Lake. Vector Enterprises of Saskatoon was awarded the $2.1 million

grading contract. Paving will start next spring and be completed by next fall.



Partnerships have played a key role in this project, Sonntag noted.



Gravel from the Makaoo Reserve will be used in the grading work and it is

anticipated gravel from the Seekaskootch Reserve will be used in next year's

surfacing work.



"This partnership extends from a maintenance agreement with the first nation,

where the first nation has been employing local labor and assuming maintenance

responsibility for the road," Sonntag said.



Another key partnership is with the province of Alberta. The project is cost-

shared between the two provinces, as Highway 17 runs along the Saskatchewan-

Alberta border.



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For more information, contact:



Ray Connoly

Highways and Transportation

Saskatoon

Phone: (306) 933-6117