Saskatchewan Highway 1

Saskatchewan Highway 1

Provincial highways in Saskatchewan

Highway 1 is the Saskatchewan section of the Trans-Canada Highway mainland route. The total distance of the Trans-Canada Highway in Saskatchewan is 651.2 kilometres (404.6 mi). The highway traverses Saskatchewan from the western border with Alberta, from Highway 1, to Manitoba where it continues as Highway 1, PTH 1. The Trans–Canada Highway Act was passed on December 10, 1949. The Saskatchewan segment was completed August 21, 1957. The speed limit along the majority of the route is 110 kilometres per hour (70–mph) with urban area thoroughfares slowing to a speed of 90–100 kilometres per hour (55–65 mph). Portions of the highway—the section through Swift Current, an 8-kilometer section east of Moose Jaw, and the Regina Ring Road—are controlled-access. Highway 1 serves as a major east-west transport route for commercial traffic. It is the main link between southern Saskatchewan's largest cities, and also serves as the province's main link to the neighbouring provinces of Alberta (to the west) and Manitoba (to the east).

The four-lane divided highway passes through three major urban centres of Saskatchewan, Regina, Moose Jaw and Swift Current. A site in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, an internationally acclaimed shorebird conservation strategy, is at the village of Chaplin approximately equal distance between Swift Current and Moose Jaw. Located southwest of the Trans–Canada is the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, which features Fort Walsh and the highest elevation of Saskatchewan. Highway 1 traverses ranch lands, the Missouri Coteau topographical area, and rolling prairie agricultural plains.

The highway generally runs west to east along the route, following parallel with the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway route. The Trans–Canada Highway traverses historical settlement areas. The transcontinental railroad of 1885 brought settlers to southern Saskatchewan. Commemorative historical sites along the Trans–Canada Highway mark the historical changes of the 72 years since the CPR came through.

On November 9, 2011, the section between Moose Jaw and Regina was designated "Saskatchewan's Highway of Heroes" to honour province's soldiers who died in service