Saskatchewan Highway 15
Highway 15 is an east–west provincial highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The highway runs from Highway 4, south of Rosetown, east to Highway 16, southeast of Bredenbury. It is an important truck route as it is a high clearance corridor that allows travel of over-dimension loads by shippers and commercial carriers. The highway is about long.
Highway 15 crosses the South Saskatchewan River via the Outlook Bridge, traverses the Touchwood Hills, and parallels the main line of the Canadian National Railway between Nokomis and Melville. Some of the larger communities serviced by the highway include Outlook, Kenaston, Raymore, Ituna, and Melville.
Route description
The western terminus for Highway 15 begins at Highway 4, about south of Rosetown. From there, it travels east towards the South Saskatchewan River providing access to Sovereign and Milden. The highway crosses the river via the Outlook Bridge. Once across the river, it turns north into the town of Outlook where it runs concurrently with the north bound McKenzie St. At the intersection of McKenzie St and Saskatchewan Ave, Highway 15 turns east and heads out of town. Continuing east, the highway comes to Broderick where it turns north-east for about then resumes its easterly routing to Kenaston and Highway 11. Highway 11, also known as the Louis Riel Trail, is a north–south, four-lane divided highway that connects Saskatchewan's two largest cities — Regina and Saskatoon. Highway 15 crosses Highway 11 and travels east for about to Nokomis and the north–south Highway 20. Along this stretch of 15, the highway provides access to Farrerdale, intersects with Highways 653 and 2, and crosses three tributaries of Last Mountain Lake — Arm River, Lewis Creek, and Lanigan Creek.The section of Highway 15 from Nokomos to Melville is paralleled by the main line of the Canadian National Railway and runs generally south-east. At Nokomis, Highways 15 and 20 head south running concurrently for to Hatfield. Highway 20 continues south while 15 heads east for en route to Raymore and Highway 6. Semans, at the intersection of Highway 641, is the only community on 15 between Highways 20 and 6. At Raymore, 15 and 6 share a short long south bound concurrency. Highway 6 continues south while 15 branches off and heads south-east towards the town of Ituna. From the junction of 15 and 6 to Ituna, Highway 15 provides access to Quinton, Punnichy, Touchwood Hills Post Provincial Park, Muskowekwan First Nation, Lestock, Leross, Kelliher, and Jasmine. It intersects with Highways 640, 639, 35, 52, and 310. Heading into Ituna, 15 has a long concurrency with 310. Through Ituna, 15 and 310 follow Main St to 1st Ave NE, at which point 15 splits off south-east following 1st Ave NE out of town. It continues its south-easterly routing towards Melville. The segment of Highway 15 from Ituna to Highway 47 on the western side of Melville is long. Along this stretch, Highway 15 provides access to Ituna Airport, Hubbard, Goodeve, Fenwood, and Birmingham.
As Highway 15 leaves the intersection with Highway 47, it enters the city of Melville and runs concurrently with 3rd Ave W, Dielschneider Rd, 1st Ave W, and 1st Ave E. From the eastern side of Melville, Highway 15 exits the city and travels east to its eastern terminus at Highway 16 between Bredenbury and Churchbridge. Along the way, it intersects Highways 605, 9, and 637. From Highway 9 east to 16, Highway 15 is an 8-tonne road and banned for heavy trucks.
Upgrades
Highway 15 originally crossed the South Saskatchewan River via the "old" Outlook Bridge that was built in 1936. In 1998 a "new" Outlook Bridge was constructed and the highway was rerouted to the south a short distance to cross the new bridge.In 2023, a two-year highway improvement project was begun on Highway 15 east of Kenaston between Highways 11 and 2. The project, valued at $22.7 million, included the construction of a subgrade, widening and resurfacing of the highway, and culvert replacements. The work included "22 km of highway that started 15 km east of the junction with Highway 11 to about 20 km west of the junction with Highway 2".
In 2024, culverts were replaced on Highway 15 near Broderick at a cost of more than $1.2 million.