It's been a long wait, but the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure (MHI) was set to start the permanent repairs on Highway 5 west of Humboldt this week.
Earlier this year, sloughs bordering a section of the highway, approximately seven kilometres west of Humboldt, overflowed onto the road.
MHI completed a temporary fix in August, which saw the grade of the road raised by nearly 1.5 metres. But this also narrowed the road, reducing the speed limit to 70 kilometres per hour over that section.
"The efforts in late 2010 will restore the highway's shoulders, return the speed limit to 100 kilometres per hour and reduce the risk of water overtopping the highways again," said MHI.
The permanent repair to the highway is estimated to cost $5 million. Once the long-term fix is finished, the grade of the highway will be three metres higher than it was originally.
"The MHI is pleased to see work on Highway 5 reach this next important step and move from the completed short-term fix earlier this summer - which was to restore the service as quickly as possible for motorists - to now a permanent repair this fall to help prevent repeated flooding," said MHI.
Motorists should be aware of traffic delays given people and equipment working on and adjacent to the highway, reduced speeds and one-way traffic.
"The plan is to accommodate traffic throughout construction," said MHI.
"If all goes well with the weather in late 2010, final paving will be all the remains to be completed in 2011, when warmer weather allows for the best results of that construction activity," said MHI.
"This work has been a priority and we've worked as quickly as possible (to finish the repairs)."
There was no mention of installing guard rails along that section of road.
