Saskatchewan Highway 2
Highway 2 is a provincial highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is the longest highway in Saskatchewan at. The highway has a few divided sections, but it is mostly undivided. However, only about of Highway 2 near Moose Jaw, of the highway near Chamberlain, and of the highway near Prince Albert are divided highways. Highway 2 is a major north–south route, beginning at the Canada–United States border at the Port of West Poplar River and Opheim, Montana customs checkpoints; Montana Highway 24 continues south. It passes through the major cities of Moose Jaw in the south and Prince Albert in the north. Highway 2 overlaps Highway 11 between the towns of Chamberlain and Findlater. This section of road is a wrong-way concurrency. The highway ends at La Ronge, where it becomes Highway 102.
The highway started as a graded road in the 1920s which followed the grid lines of the early survey system and was maintained by early homesteaders of each rural municipality. Paving projects of the 1950s created all weather roads. Technological advances have paved the way for cost-effective methods of improvements to highway surfaces to meet the wear and tear of increased tourist and commercial highway traffic. The stretch of Highway 2 from Moose Jaw to Prince Albert was designated in 2005 as Veterans Memorial Highway. The designation coincided with Veterans Week 2005. The CanAm Highway comprises Saskatchewan Highways 35, 39, 6, 3, 2, and 102.
Route description
Saskatchewan's Highway 2 departs the Canada–United States border in a northerly direction. Montana Highway 24 continues in a southerly direction in the United States. The United States border crossing is in Opheim, Montana, and the Canadian is at West Poplar River.Nearby there are campgrounds available, and a point of information regarding the crossing of Poplar River. The area is rich in history, this is the Big Muddy Badlands area which featured the hideouts of outlaws and rum runners of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. This area remained above the Quaternary age ice sheets, being pushed and folded by the glacier movement resulting in glaciotectonic hills. The highway winds up, down and around these hills along the way. The Big Muddy Badlands are within the Missouri Coteau. At kilometre 12, the highway reaches Kildeer, and the intersection with Highway 18. Access to Wood Mountain Post Provincial Historical Park is obtained by following Highway 18 north for. This section of Highway 2 begins as a Class 4 highway and is under the jurisdiction of the Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation South West Transportation Planning Council. The highway is a secondary weight highway with a thin membrane surface type as it only has an average of 390 vehicles per day according to the 2007 Average Annual Daily Traffic count which was taken north of Rockglen. Highway 2 begins a concurrency with Highway 18 in a north-easterly direction. Alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures, hay and fodder crops and spring wheat are the main crops in Old Post rural municipality. There is a point of information at kilometre 42. This area is known as the Wood Mountain Uplands where there are mining endeavours undertaken such as coal, bentonite, kaolinitic, and ceramic clays. Paleontological digs have uncovered a 63-million-year-old sea turtle which has been excavated in the Killdeer region. Rockglen is located at kilometre 49, and Highway 2 now extends in a northerly direction again. Rockglen and Assiniboia are the two largest centres between the border and the city of Moose Jaw. This geographical region of Highway 2 from Rockglen to Assiniboia has been upgraded to a Class 3 highway as it carries approximately 800 vehicles per day counted to the south of Assiniboia. Therefore, the surface type before Assiniboia is a granular road surface which is a structural pavement with a hot mix surface coating. The highway type, surface, maintenance and construction projects are looked after by the SHS South Central Traffic Planning Committee. Fife Lake is located to the north east of the highway. The St. Victor Petroglyph Historic Park is located just to the west of Highway 2 by. These unique petroglyph features carved into the sandstone are slowly disappearing.
At kilometre 103 is the town of Assiniboia where 1,260 vpd results in the highway designated as an asphalt concrete Class 2 primary weight highway all the way to Moose Jaw. Junction with Highway 13, the Red Coat Trail occurs at kilometre 103, providing access to Lafleche. Vantage is located to the west of the highway along this stretch, with access provided at kilometre 128. Mossbank is located at the intersection with Highway 718. Here is the south-east portion of Old Wives Lake, which is a part of the Chaplin Lake, Old Wives Lake, Reed Lakes - Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network Site, a designated Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network, protecting three saline lakes, saline and freshwater marshes. Ardill is located near the northern extremity of Lake of the Rivers. Highway 36 is located at kilometre 175, which provides access to Crestwynd, and the Jean Louis Legare Regional Park. At kilometre 183, is the junction with Highway 716 west providing access to Briercrest.
Veteran's Memorial Highway
The home of the Snowbirds, the Canadian Forces 431 Air Demonstration Squadron is at CFB Moose Jaw, Bushell Park at the kilometre 202 junction with Highway 363. Before entering the city of Moose Jaw is an twinned highway section. Highway 2 becomes an urban couplet for before going through the centre of the city. Moose Jaw features large roadside attractions such as Capone's Car, Moose Family, and Mac the Moose. Temple Gardens Mineral Spa Resort, Tunnels of Moose Jaw, and History of Transportation Western Development Museum. are major sites of interest of this city.The Saskatchewan Highway 1 intersection with Highway 2 is north of Moose Jaw. At kilometre 226, access to Buffalo Pound Provincial Park is provided to the east of Highway 2 by travelling another. Access to the small town of Tuxford is provided at kilometre 230, at the Highway 42 junction. The SHS Central Area Transportation Planning Committee monitors this primary weight highway between Moose Jaw and Meacham. Between the two national highway systems of the Trans Canada Saskatchewan Highway 1 and Saskatchewan Highway 11, Highway 2 is also designated as a Class 1 AC national connector highway. There is a point of information on the south side of the Qu'Appelle Valley while second point of information is on the northern bank of the Qu'Appelle Valley. Buffalo Pound Lake, a eutrophic prairie lake was formed by glaciation 10,000 years ago. At the junction of Highway 11, is the town of Chamberlain where the highway which travels north begins a south-east wrong-way concurrency at Chamberlain. Where these two national highways overlap, a divided highway segment handles the AADT which is about 4500 vpd. Arm River Recreation Site is south of Chamberlain with an historical marker. To the west of the highway are afforded views of the Arm River Valley. At kilometre 275, the highway takes a sharp turn to continue north as it leaves the Highway 11 concurrency. After the concurrency, Highway 2 is a class 3 AC primary weight highway until Watrous. The junction of Highway 733 in provides access to Last Mountain Lake travelling east. Holdfast is accessed at the Highway 732 junction. Penzance is east of the highway at kilometre 305; Liberty is a small community at kilometre 314. Located near Stalwart is the Stalwart National Wildlife Area, a wetlands region. Watertown provides easy access to Etter's Beach on Last Mountain Lake. The settlers of Watertown established a post office named Harkness Post Office, Assiniboia, North-West Territories. With the arrival of the rail, the village became known as Imperial. The town of Imperial is the largest centre west of Last Mountain Lake with a population around 300 and an AADT of close to 650 vpd. The village of Simpson is also along the highway which runs parallel to Last Mountain Lake. There are several roadside turnouts to access Last Mountain Lake from Highway 2. The Last Mountain Lake Bird Sanctuary was the first bird sanctuary in North America. Highway 15 provides access to Nokomis to the east, and Kenaston to the west. The small hamlet of Amazon is located before Watrous. Watrous is a tourist destination due to its proximity to Manitou Beach and the endorheic Little Manitou Lake. Watrous, in the Land of Living Waters, is a tourist destination due to its proximity to Manitou Beach, home of the world-famous Mineral Spa and Danceland dance hall. The AADT near this tourist town of 1,800 people raises to about 1,250 vpd which ranks it as a class 2 highway. Highway 2 continues in a north-west direction to circumnavigate around Little Manitou until it gets to the Young and the junction of Highway 670. Young and Zelma were two communities that were part of the alphabet railway of the Canadian National Railway. The Yellowhead Highway is at kilometre 419. Colonsay is located to the west, and Plunkett to the east. Colonsay is the location of one of several potash mines in Saskatchewan, a major employer of the region. Potash evaporites were laid down during the geological formation of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The SHS North Central Transportation Planning Committee tends to highway maintenance and construction decisions north of the Yellowhead highway. Highway 2 from the Yellowhead through to Prince Albert is a class 2 primary weight AC highway. Over 1,000 vehicles travel Highway 2 between Watrous and Meacham, and of these less than 100 of them are trucks. The majority of commercial trucks near the Highway 2 and 5 intersection travel Highway 5. The AADT after the intersection is under 350 vpd.
Highway 5 provides access to the city of Saskatoon, the largest city in Saskatchewan. There is a concurrency between Highway 5 and 2 upon which there are close to 2,000 vpd. Highway 5 east provides access to the city of Humboldt. Meacham at kilometre 435 is located in the Aspen Parkland ecoregion. Throughout the Aspen Parkland ecoregion are trembling aspen bluffs within the prairie region. Deer and other large ungulates are a hazard to traffic resulting in potential animal or human deaths, especially in the autumn mating months or when deer are searching for feeding grounds in the spring. The defence mechanism of deer in the face of a threat is to freeze. There are over 3,500 deer - auto collisions per year in Saskatchewan. A number of measures have been implemented to increase awareness such as fencing, feeding programs, and automobile whistles. Deer mirrors along the edges of highways were installed for reducing deer-vehicle collisions. The Wildlife Warning System is triggered by highway vehicles, setting off lights, sounds and or odours ahead of the approaching vehicle to frighten away animals. Some systems that detect vehicles, where others detect large animals and sets off a warning system to drivers of vehicles alerting them that an animal is on or near the highway ahead of time. The junction with Highway 27 occurs at kilometre 460 providing access west to the village of Prud'homme and off to the east is Muskiki Lake. Cudworth is located at the Highway 777 intersection, bearing east on Highway 777 provides access to Middle Lake. The intersection of Highway 41 is located at Wakaw, which features a golf course, campground, and regional park at Wakaw Lake. The community considered a proposal to construct a canal between the lake and the town to be developed into a marina - resort - tourism area. Traffic around this tourist town of 864 increases between 650 and 1050 vpd.
At the junction of Highway 25 is the town of St. Louis where there is a historical paranormal phenomenon called the St. Louis Light or the St. Louis Ghost Train. Domremy, located at the junction of Highway 320 and Highway 225, constructed a park to commemorate the province's centennial celebrations. Highway 225 provides access to the Batoche National Historical Site, which was the site of the last stand of Metis rights activist Louis Riel prior to his subsequent trial and death in 1885. St. Louis was recently the site of the discovery of a large archaeological site of aboriginal artifacts. The South Saskatchewan River was originally crossed at this point via the St. Louis Bridge, but the highway now bypasses the village several kilometres to the east via a newly constructed bridge. Traffic around St. Louis averaged about 1,500 and escalates to 6,000 after the junction with Highway 11, which occurs 4 kilometres south of Prince Albert at kilometre 553.