Released on July 25, 2007
A contract has been awarded and construction is expected to begin soon on a $1.2 million partnership project funded by the province to improve access to the All Nations Healing Hospital in Fort Qu'Appelle.
ASL Paving Ltd. of Regina has been awarded the contract to pave Sioux Avenue from Highway 10 to the All Nations Healing Hospital. Construction is expected to begin following the August long weekend and the new paved surface should be open to traffic in October, depending on weather.
"I am pleased to see this project get underway," Highways and Transportation Minister Buckley Belanger said. "It will help improve the lives of Saskatchewan families and ensure all those in the Fort Qu'Appelle region have reliable access to this very important medical facility."
Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation, the Town of Fort Qu'Appelle and the File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council formed a partnership to make this project a reality. The project is an example of how the province's Transportation for Economic Advantage strategy encourages new and innovative ways to improve the transportation system.
Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation will fund the project, construction will be managed by the Town of Fort Qu'Appelle and the File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council was instrumental in building the hospital. The partners will also seek training and employment opportunities for First Nations people during construction.
"I am extremely appreciative that the community of Fort Qu'Appelle, the First Nations community and the surrounding communities will have improved access to this excellent health care facility on a daily basis," Fort Qu'Appelle Mayor Ron Osika said.
"By working together, regardless of which type of government we represent, we can all help the larger community as a whole and better the lives of everyone in it," File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council Vice Tribal Chairperson Myke Agecoutay said. "This partnership has helped address an important issue. It benefits the residents of Fort Qu'Appelle and the surrounding First Nation communities that access the necessary services of the All Nations Healing Hospital."
This project is within the First Nations Connections pillar of the Transportation for Economic Advantage. This strategy is a 10-year, $5-billion commitment to fundamentally realign the province's transportation network to meet the current and future demands of Saskatchewan's thriving and robust economy. The strategy is to work toward providing a safe, reliable and sustainable transportation infrastructure in a reasonable and thoughtful manner, while looking for new ways and new partnerships to improve our infrastructure.
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For more information, contact:
Doug Wakabayashi
Highways and Transportation
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4804
Email: dwakabayashi@highways.gov.sk.ca