The Town of Balgonie has met with members of the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure on multiple occasions to discuss their decision on the closure of Main Street and its impact on our town. The closure has been a great loss to the vitality of our Town and has created emergency response considerations as well as impacting traffic patterns within our community.

The Ministry and its engineers are unwavering in their view that the intersection, including “Right In/Right Out” at Main Street, must close. The rationale given by the Ministry is that there is not enough room between Highway 10 and Main Street and between Main Street and Highway 46 to design a safe access. The distances between the bypass and the Highway 10 overpass have made it impossible, by today’s engineering standards, to accommodate this access point.

The Ministry engaged an outside engineer to review any possibility of retaining a “Right In/Right Out” at Main Street in Balgonie. The engineer also reviewed the options presented by Council at the September 25th meeting with the Ministry of Highways. His review concluded the same results that were presented to the Town by the Ministry of Highways. There was no safe way to keep the access from Highway 1 at Main Street.

While this closure is a great loss to our community, the Town and the Ministry have discussed work which will be done to address the impact on traffic operations and emergency responses. Both the parties have agreed to a gated access for emergency vehicles and evacuation. The safety of the Town residents and the response times for our emergency personnel is paramount. The work on a temporary gated access will begin very soon and the planning has been initiated for permanent remote controlled access for emergency response purposes. Additionally, the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure has agreed to provide the Town with certain improvements to our roads, lighting and traffic controls within our Town. This will be important as the Town is impacted by the closure and these measures will assist the municipality in responding to these challenges.

The Town Council would like to acknowledge the efforts of, and thank the local community residents and the “Save our Main Street” group for their determination in having the issues of Balgonie heard. Progress has been made in the discussions with the Ministry of Highways—this progress would not have been possible without the community voicing concerns. The Town and the Ministry are working towards a Memorandum of Understanding which will outline the details of the negotiations.

Statement Regarding Main Street Closure

The Regina Bypass Design Builders will be paving the Grid Road from Highway 46 to Highway 364. In order to do the job in a timely matter, this entire road will be closed from Tuesday, October 10 at 8:00 a.m. until Friday, October 13th.

The closure will include the entrance from the Grid to Herauf Street.

Local traffic from Highway 46 to the 3 acreages on the west end of the Grid Road will be the only permitted traffic.

Once this project is complete, the crew will move over to work on the Service Road from Highway 364 to Main Street. Service Road will be closed from Friday, October 13 at 8:00 a.m. to Saturday, October 14, at 8:00 p.m.

The project times may vary and are weather dependent. Please stay off of these roads and obey the closure signs so that the crews can do the work in a timely manner.

The Town of Balgonie endorsed the Balgonie portion of the Bypass project from the inception of the project. There were extreme safety concerns on Highway 1 and the level crossings from Highway 46 and the level crossing at Main Street. Too many fatalities and injuries have occurred at these locations with the increased traffic on these highways and the increased permitted speeds from 100 kph to 110 kph the potential for future accidents continues to increase. The new bypass will address these cross over issues.

The Town of Balgonie was presented with some preliminary designs (2010 to 2013) which indicated the Right in/Right out access would remain at Main Street in Balgonie and that the centre median would be closed for cross over traffic.

The plan indicating the closure at Main Street in both directions was only presented to the town residents on September 2014 with no pre-consultation or notice of the concept change. In response, the Town of Balgonie sent a letter to the Ministry of Highways in October 2014 expressing the dissatisfaction with the total closure of the access at Main Street. The impacts
noted included access, economic and emergency responses.

In the time since, the Town has continued to request the Right In/Right Out at Main Street and made several appeals to the Ministry on behalf of the local residents to find a reasonable solution. Additionally, the Town requested that the Ministry of Highways hold public consultations regarding the proposed closure of Main Street. There were no opportunities provided by the Ministry for public consultations. Open houses started to occur in 2016—long after the closure was presented on paper and after the Ministry decided to close the access.

Statement from the Town of Balgonie Council

The Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure will be holding a public meeting on Wednesday, September 20, 2017.

Due to the Ministry’s concerns for safety, we will not be revisiting the decision to close the Main Street access on Highway 1. Instead, we want to develop solutions to mitigate the impact of the closure on local business and emergency services.

The meeting will take place from 7pm to 8pm at the Balgonie Baptist Church.

Our annual 2017 Dinner Theatre is right around the corner. This year’s play is called Exit Laughing. The dates for the production are November 3, 4 and November 10, and November 11. Box office tickets go on sale Sunday, October 15 at the Balgonie Multiplex from 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. This year, tickets are $45.00 each. Park your car in order that you arrive and numbers will be passed out at 6 a.m. sharp the morning of the 15th of October. Parking a car and leaving it unattended does not hold your place in line.

Around the middle of October, the committee will be canvassing the town and rural community for donations toward the Dinner Theatre. Our members will begin phoning around the middle of October. Please read the instructions below regarding dropping off food items. Thank you in advance for your co-operation folks in making this event such a success. If you have any questions regarding food donations, etc. please phone Susan at 306-771-2202 donations for both weekends may be dropped off Wednesday, November 1 between the hours of 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Balgonie Multiplex.

• If you miss the drop off time – donations are accepted at the Multiplex anytime during the event. Please call Penni at 306 -771 -2230.
• Please put your name on food items when dropping them off.
• Donation items may also be purchased at Cross Country Foods, your name will be placed on the item and Cross Country Foods will deliver your donated item to the Multiplex.
• Cash donations are also gladly accepted. Please drop off at the Town office – Cheques made payable to the Balgonie Rec. Board – Dinner Theatre.

We would like to remind you that this fundraiser brings in approximately $35,000.00 into our community. The proceeds this year will be divided between the Recreation Board, Balgonie Swimming Pool, Balgonie Curling Club, the Volunteer Fire Department, the Balgonie Early Learning Centre, Balgonie Playschool, Balgonie Dance and Twirl and the Multiplex.

Our event is also looking for volunteers to assist in waitering, waitressing, kitchen duties, etc.; we would be pleased to have you. If you are new to the community and would like to meet new people, this is a great opportunity. Please phone me, Shaun McBain at 771-4343 or Penni at 771-2230.

The exit ramp from Highway 1 to Highway 46 at Balgonie will be opening to traffic later this evening – September 8.

With the opening of the exit ramp, Main Street access to Highway 1 in Balgonie will be permanently closed; however, emergency vehicles will still have access.

In town, Main Street north of the North Service Road will reopen, as the westbound detour through town will be eliminated.

2016 Waterworks Financial Overview

Main Street will be temporarily closed at Service Road (Rigby Street) in the near future. Motorists are encouraged to use the Bypass to exit Town.

The closure will improve safety conditions at this intersection while traffic is rerouted on the Service Road from Highway 1 to 46 and Highway 46 to 1.

The eastbound ramp on the Balgonie Bypass is expected to be ready in 3 weeks and the westbound ramp is expected to be ready in 5 weeks.

With the new Balgonie overpass set to open Monday, July 24, weather permitting, traffic patterns will be altered.

Be advised:

• Highway 1 eastbound access to Balgonie at Main Street will be closed. All eastbound access to Balgonie will be via the new overpass
• Temporary lights will be at Highway 364 and Highway 46
• Stop signs will be at the service road and 364

Until the time of completion, there will be speed reductions, one lane traffic and some confusion. This will be a confusing time for all of us as we learn the roundabouts and getting comfortable with our new surroundings. Once available, we will post informational videos to our website pertaining to the overpass. Please take your time, and be considerate to those who are still learning this new way to get to and from town. Understandably, tempers may flare as the work is proceeding.

Click here to learn more about the Balgonie Roundabouts

As the on and off ramps are being completed, the service road on the west side of town, towards the Baptist Church (behind McIlwaine’s), through to Main street will be the access road while this construction is completed. Traffic from the highway will be detoured through town as per this route. Please ensure you take a few extra minutes on your commute. We ask for your patience, as this will see a heavy amount of traffic come through town.

The construction seems like it has been going on forever, but the end is in sight! The difficulties of today will result in a safer and more efficient traffic corridor.

Please see the maps at the bottom of the page.

Things to keep in mind during this challenging period:

• Expect delays
• The reduced speeds are to prevent injuries to workers, and drivers alike
• If you must use a cell phone, use a hands free device
• Pay attention for new signage
• Show respect for those flag people working on the road.

The road construction workers do their part to keep you out of harm’s way from heavy equipment and road hazards. However, they are vulnerable to passing traffic or distracted drivers. There is literally nothing between them and the thousands of pounds of steel in your vehicle. Please, do your part to keep them safe, as they are doing theirs to keep us safe.