Saskatchewan Highway 5

Highway 5 is a major highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It begins in downtown Saskatoon and runs eastward to the Manitoba border near Togo, where it becomes Provincial Road 363. The highway is approximately long. Between the early 1900s and 1976, Provincial Highway 5 was a trans-provincial highway travelling approximately in length. At this time it started at the Alberta border in Lloydminster and travelled east to the Manitoba border.

In the summer of 1970, the section of highway between Lloydminster and Saskatoon was designated to be a portion of the Yellowhead Highway. This section of highway maintained the Highway 5 designation until 1976, when it was redesignated as Highway 16 to maintain the same number through the four western provinces (Manitoba followed suit the following year, redesignating its section of the Yellowhead Highway from PTH 4 to PTH 16). This redesignation shortened the length of Highway 5 to its current length of .

Along the route are several heritage sites, an international bird watching area, saline lakes, as well as regional and provincial parks. Museums and historical markers commemorate the region's history along the highway.

Route description

Highway 5 begins near downtown Saskatoon at Idylwyld Drive North ( Highway 11 and 12), as 25th Street East. The highway starting terminus is adjacent to the Saskatoon Railway Station. It becomes College Drive after crossing the river, and at km 4.4, after passing Preston Avenue, the road diverges into a divided or twinned highway with 2 lanes traveling in either direction across a meridian Continuing east it intersects the Circle Drive freeway route ( Highway 16) at an interchange that opened in 2006. After a signalized intersection with Central Avenue and an interchange with McKercher Drive, and then meets one of the city's newest interchanges at McOrmond Drive. Highway 5 leaves Saskatoon's city limits where it undivides, at approx. km 14.
According to the Atlas of Saskatchewan, the elevation around Saskatoon is between . Leaving Saskatoon, travel is through a moist mixed grassland ecoregion.Just outside the city limits, Highway 5 connects with Highway 41 at the site of a small commercial area. The remainder of the highway to the Manitoba border is an undivided highway. The communities of Strawberry Hills, Discovery Ridge and Settler's Ridge are just off km 18 on Highway 5. At km 21, Highway 5 intersects Highway 316.

At km 41, it intersects Highway 671, near the town of St. Denis. At km 64, it intersects Highway 2, where it begins a concurrency. Highway 5 continues east at km 70.

The town of Peterson is at km 76 and Highway 670 is at km 87. The ecoregion changes to aspen parkland.

At km 109, the highway passes through the town of Dixon.

The city of Humboldt is at km 115. Highway 5 also connects with Highway 20 in Humboldt.

After Humboldt, Highway 5 passes through the town of Muenster at km 123 and intersects with Highway 368 at km 125.

Highway 667 is at km 135, and the town of St. Gregor is at km 136. It then passes through the town of Englefeld (km 147).

Highway 5 then passes through Wimmer (km 165), and Quill Lake (km 175).

The highway continues east meeting with Highway 640 (km 176), Clair (km 191), and Paswegin (km 199). It enters the town of Wadena and intersects with Highway 35 at km 210.

Highway 5's next minor intersections are at Kylemore and Highway 665 (km 222), Kuroki and Highway 38 (km 232), Highway 310 (km 234), Margo (km 244), Highway 617 and Invermay (km 256). Highway 755 connects with Rama (km 268) and Theodore.

The highway then leaves Rama and continues on through Dernic (km 278), Highway 47 and Buchanan (km 286). Good Spirit Lake Provincial Park is located south of Buchanan and south-west of Canora. Highway 5 continues through the hamlet of Tiny and intersects with Highway 664 (km 299). The junction with Highway 651 is at km 309. The town of Canora, "Heart of Good Spirit Country", is at km 311, where Highway 5 has a 2 km concurrency with Highway 9, the Saskota flyway.

The next few intersections on Highway 5 are at Highway 650 and Ross Junction (km 319), Mikado (km 326), and Veregin and Highway 637 (km 339). The town of Kamsack, at km 352, is the last major town that Highway 5 passes through. The Doukhobour Heritage Village is a historical attraction at Verigin. Highway 5 also intersects Highway 8 near Kamsack.

To the north of Highway 5, and east of Kamsack is the Duck Mountain Provincial Park. Highway 5 travels south of Duck Mountain which has an elevation of between . Highway 5 then intersects Highway 57 at km 360. From Highway 57, the highway turns south and meanders to the southeast as it passes the access to the town of Coté (km 365) and through the towns of Runnymede (km 374) and Togo (km 387), where it also intersects Highway 357 and Highway 369. Highway 5 ends at the Manitoba border (km 388), where it continues for approximately as Provincial Road 363 to PTH 83.

The highway is paved for its entire length. The section from Highway 57 through Togo and onwards to the Manitoba border is a very narrow and lightly used two lane highway with little to no shoulder on either side. The speed limit is between Saskatoon and Highway 57, and between Highway 57 and the Manitoba border.

History

The early Red River cart trail traversed the North West Territory prairies between Portage la Prairie and Edmonton via Humboldt and Battleford, intersecting the future location of Highway 5 at Humboldt. The Dominion Government Telegraph Line was constructed in 1875, which was parallel to the future Highway 5.

Both Red River Cart trail and telegraph line were abandoned in the 1920s.

In 1925, '' Provincial Highway 5, the Evergreen Route'', followed the surveyed rail line route of the Canadian Northern Railway, later the Canadian National Railway. Provincial Highway 5 had a western terminus at Lloydminster located on the Alberta–Saskatchewan border. When the province was surveyed, the road evolved from a dirt road to a gravel road. This was finally improved to an all-weather road known as Provincial Highway 5 from the Alberta–Saskatchewan border bypassing Saskatoon to the north, and continuing on to the Manitoba–Saskatchewan border. Just as the rail line went through Aberdeen, Warman, and Langham, so too did Provincial Highway 5. In 1925, access from Saskatoon to Provincial Highway 5 was via Provincial Highway 12 which was a route due north of the city. The other connection was Provincial Highway 27 which travelled east and north from Saskatoon connecting to Provincial Highway 5 at the junction located at the town of Aberdeen. In the late 1950s and 1960s, the highway was straightened and widened. During this process, the current Saskatchewan Highway 5 connected Humboldt and Saskatoon in a more direct west and east highway. The old place names of Warman, Aberdeen, Vonda, Prudhomme, Dana, Bruno, and Carmel located on Provincial Highway 5 were no longer place names along Saskatchewan Highway 5. Now the Highway 2 concurrency was the only north–south stretch between Humboldt and Saskatoon and Meacham the only place name. On August 15, 1970, the Yellowhead was opened for the northern Trans-Canada route and the northwestern half of Provincial Highway 5 between Saskatoon and Lloydminster was designated as Saskatchewan Highway 16, the Yellowhead route.

Travel along the Provincial Highway 5 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.1926 Saskatchewan map

Highway 5 was constructed through Englefeld in 1961.

John Koenig was one of the first residents of Englefeld to own a car, a Ford touring car purchased in the 1920s.

Upgrades

Canadian Pacific Railway crossing lights were installed on Highway 5 at the east end of Humboldt. At the junction of Highway 20 and Highway 5, there were traffic lights installed in 1973. West Humboldt properties announced in the fall of 2008 that The Quill Centre will be opened in the fall of 2009 along Highway 5.

Jan 3, 1910, was the first meeting of the RM of Blucher 343. In 1911, early homesteaders could choose to pay taxes at $9.00 per quarter section of land or working off $4.00 of this expense by constructing roads. A labourer and two horse team could earn 50 cents an hour and a four-horse team with a driver was allotted 70 cents an hour.

A resurfacing improvement project was undertaken for an stretch between Mikado and Canora. The $1 million project was completed in the summer of 2001. In the summer of 2000, received resurfacing improvements between Verigin and Mikado. In February 2003, the Department of Highways awarded a tender to resurface from Quill Lake and eastward. "We are maintaining our focus on building better highways. Work on this $940,000 resurfacing project ... should be complete within two weeks", said Highways and Transportation Minister Mark Wartman.

Major intersections

From west to east:

Notes

References

External links

{{Saskatchewan Provincial Highways

005
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Humboldt, Saskatchewan
Streets in Saskatoon