Saskatchewan Highway 39 - History

History

The railways would not build across the western frontier without settlement as it would be too costly to provide train service across a barren wilderness. The Clifford Sifton immigration policy encourages settlers to arrive. Western settlement began and immigration encroached across the Manitoba and United States borders into the North West Territories which later became Saskatchewan. Immigration settlement to the last best west and the early highways began in the south east. The Federal Government survey crew reached this south eastern area of the District of Assiniboia, North West Territories in 1880. In 1881, the province of Manitoba expanded to its present boundaries and land could be purchased for $10.00 an acre. President Lincoln's U.S. Homestead Act was passed in 1862 and lands there were taken. In 1872, Canada passed the Dominion Lands Act attracting homesteaders to the West.

Saskatchewan Provincial Highway 39 paralleled the headwaters of the Souris River as well as the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) along the south eastern portion of its route. The highway traverses a course on a diagonal from south east to north west. The road followed the early surveyed road allowances made by the Provincial Highway 39, the precursor of the Saskatchewan Highway 39 followed the surveyed grade of the CPR or Soo Line between the United States border and east of Moose Jaw. Travel along Provincial Highway 39 before the 1940s would have been traveling on the square following the township road allowances, barbed wire fencing and rail lines. As the surveyed township roads were the easiest to travel, the first highway was designed on 90 degree right angle corners as the distance traversed the prairie along range roads and township roads.

With the establishment of settlements and population came the attendant need for education, health, fire and police protection and an urgent need to improve methods of travel. The North West Territories established Departments which did not last long, and were soon replaced by a rural administrative system called Local Improvement Districts (LID). Local Improvement Districts were very large, and with the early dirt trails for roads, and a limited number of automobiles, the area was found much to large to administer. The L.I.D. soon gave way to the rural municipality system of rural civic administration and encompassed on average 9 townships, 3 x 3 in area, which were each 6 miles (9.7 km) square, and with some modifications is still the rural administration in use today. A rural municipality (R.M.) was an elected governing system providing essential services such as police, fire, health, education and infrastructure services for rural residents. For example L.I.D. 64 was the precursor of Brock No. 64 in the district of Assiniboia, North West Territories. Historically, community residents could pay taxes or supply a couple days per quarter section labour constructing roads, bridges, and fireguards instead of paying taxes. This civic government with its elected officials attended to the maintenance and construction of the early pioneer road. Two horse then eight horse scrapers maintained these early dirt roads.

"The final meeting of the joint L. I. D.'s was held on November 5, 1910. By now taxes were up to $8.00 per quarter section. During the last few years of the L.I.D. Government a few changes began to take place. The road work day was reduced from ten to eight hours. The first grader was bought on March 31, 1906. Further road machinery was purchased, drag scrapers at $7,25 each and wheel scrapers at $51.00 each. Road overseers were also weed inspectors. In 1908, each Township received $100.00 for road work. Farmers were paid $30.00 an acre for land used for road building.... Road appropriations for 1927 were $2,500.00 for each Division with a tax rate of 6 mills... In 1928, the R. M. purchased a Holt 60 Caterpillar tractor and a 12-foot grader for $9,200.00. Road building now cost $103.00 a mile. The next year an elevating grader was purchased for $2,425.00. In 1930... Construction began on Highway 39."-A Tale That is Told: Estevan 1890 - 1980.

By 1940 Hwy 39 is shown on maps as traveling on the diagonal and straightened, no longer is the road depicted on the square. However, a close up of a 1955 map, shows still a right angle segment of the highway near Corinne as well as the highway south of Estevan to North Portal.

In 1947 and 1948, the highway was paved from North Portal to its junction with Hwy 6 at Corinne. However, the paved surface fell into disrepair within a few years; a Leader-Post reporter wrote in 1953 that "practically the entire road, from North Portal through to Corinne is just a mass of large gaping potholes, ruts, and cracks, and in some places the hard surface is gone completely." Saskatchewan Motor Transport association director A.R. Mang blamed the poor condition of the road on a failure to place a suitable "base course", a layer of gravel and clay, between the pavement and the road's earthen base. A 1955 map shows that a segment between Estevan and Lang had reverted to gravel and a 1956 highway map shows the entire segment between Weyburn and Estevan as a gravel highway. These maps also show the segment between Corinne and the junction with the Trans Canada Highway as gravel. Repairs were carried out at considerable expense, but the situation required temporary bans on heavy traffic and the rerouting of traffic along nearby roads.

Highways and Transportation Minister Maynard Sonntag announced a highway resurfacing for Hwy 39 for the summer of 2001. Highways and Transportation Minister Mark Wartman announced a highway resurfacing for Highway 39 in 2003. Prime Minister Chrétien and Premier Calvert announced a highway improvement to be completed for Highway 39 by the year 2007. This highway improvement saw the highway twinned at North Portal for easy access to the new Duty Free Shop. A trade group called the Soo Line Corridor Association advocates twinning much of Hwy 39 and part of Hwy 6 to create a continuous twinned corridor stretching from Regina to North Portal to boost Saskatchewan's trade with the United States. Premier Calvert had expressed interest in the proposal but no action has been taken to implement it.