Saskatchewan Highway 35

The southern portion of SK Hwy 35 from the Canada–United States border to Weyburn forms the initial segment of the CanAm Highway. The terrain is mixed prairie featuring rolling moraines and valleys.[4] North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA super corridors are a concept of huge transportation corridors connecting Mexico, United States, and Canada. The CanAm highway was a concept begun in the 1920s.[5] This area has been subject to criticism as the entry way to Canada of this route.[6] "The CanAm matters so little to Saskatchewan highway planners that they've turned the most southern part of it within the province -- the Highway 35 link from Weyburn to the little U.S. border crossing at Oungre -- to gravel.[5] SK Hwy 35 achieved a dishonourable mention in the Canadian contest entitled 'Highways from Hell'.[7]

SK Hwy 35

"Brenda Bakken Lackey called Highway 35 an “embarrassment’’ and a hazard for truckers’ business since it was turned into a gravel roadway last year[2004]. 'When it rains, there is mud and when it is dry, there is flying dust and gravel,' she said. 'Truckers from my constituency tell me that the U.S. Customs officials say they are not going to put up with the mud that is coming across on the trucks. There is also concerns about grain seeds and weeds coming across in the mud on truck tires.'...Highway Minister Maynard Sonntag said. 'Highway No. 6 has a much higher traffic count, many more trucks in and out from the States than Highway No. 35 would have.’' "[8] "The projects on Highways 39 and 6 will help to improve traffic flow through these Canada/U.S. ports. 'Highways 6 and 39 are very important to Saskatchewan – serving as tourism links and major north-south trade corridors to the U.S.,' Sonntag said.[9] "Highway 35 from Wadena South is always an adventure. I have found my driving skills have improved immensely especially when it comes to emergency braking and swerving to avoid the many areas of broken pavement. This past spring the Dept. of Highways could have saved thousands in signage costs if they only had put up warning signs where the road was smooth and unbroken."[10] The regional parks in this area are Nickle Lake, Mainprize, and Oungre Memorial as well as the Rafferty Reservoir.[11]

1897 Hudson’s Bay Company store in Fort Qu'Appelle

Weyburn is the only city on SK Hwy 35 and has been dubbed the Soo Line City due its connection with Chicago on the Soo Line of the Canadian Pacific Railway CPR.[12] The city of 9,433 [13] people is situated on SK Hwy 35, SK Hwy 39, and SK Hwy 13.[14] The small towns of Exon and Converge have been absorbed into the city of Weyburn today.[15] Weyburn is located astride the Williston geological Basin which contains oil deposits, and several wells operate in the vicinity.[14] Weyburn features roadside attractions of a large lighthouse water tower, wheat sheaves and prairie lily.[16]

Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Station Fort Qu'Appelle.

The Squirrel Hills are a topographical feature south of the Qu'Appelle River. The town of Qu'Appelle with a population over 600, had historic beginnings with fur trading posts in this area, and is located within the South Qu'appelle No. 157 rural municipality RM at the intersection of SK Hwy 35 with SK Hwy 1, the TransCanada.[13] Qu'Appelle was first named Troy, and was an administrative centre of the North West Territories before Saskatchewan was incorporated as a province.[17] The terrain changes from mixed prairie to aspen parkland and the frequency of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) bluffs increase.[4] Fort Qu'Appelle, with a population near 2,000, has a vibrant history being an early fur trading post south of Pasqua Lake and north of Fishing Lake, two of the Calling Lakes. Fort Qu'Appelle is located at the junction of SK Hwy 35, SK Hwy 10, SK Hwy 22, SK Hwy 727, SK Hwy 56, and SK Hwy 215.[18]

1897 Hudson’s Bay Company plaque in Fort Qu'Appelle

The 1897 Hudson’s Bay Company store, 1911 Grand Trunk Pacific Railway station, Fort Qu’Appelle Sanatorium (Fort San), and the Treaty 4 Governance Centre are all landmarks of this community.[19] A billboard and reconstructed Fort Qu'Appelle commemorate the history of the area where Treaty 4 was signed.[20] The population of Elfros has dropped from about 300 residents in 1955 to 110 in 2006.[13] It is located at the intersection of Hwy 16, the Yellowhead TransCanada. SK Hwy 35 traverses between the Little Touchwood Hills and Touchwood Hills area to the west and the Beaver Hills area on the east. Wadena at the SK Hwy 5 intersection hosts the Wadena & District Museum as well as the Jesmer & Milligan Marsh Projects Interpretative Center with information regarding the Quill Lakes International Shorebird Reserve.[21] Ponass Lake, Barrier Lake, Marean Lake, and Tobin Lake all feature resort areas, with the largest attraction in this area being the Greenwater Lake Provincial Park.[22]

SK Hwy 35

The terrain which SK Hwy 35 travels through north of the Saskatchewan tree line is southern boreal forest marked by aspen combined with jackpine, tamarack and white spruce forested areas.[4] The traffic count at the intersection of Hwy 35 and Hwy 3 at Tisdale is 11,200 vehicles per day. Tisdale is located in the heart of an agricultural community and honours the farming community with a big roadside statue of a honey bee, the land of Rape and Honey.[23] The Nipawin Evergreen Golf Club has been rated amongst the top 100 golf courses of Canada. Nipawin is nestled between two created lakes, Tobin Lake and Codette Lake, hence its nickname "The Town on Two Lakes".[24] The François-Finlay Hydro Station created Codette Lake in 1986.[25] White Fox has honoured its namesake with a large white fox by the side of the road. The statue was built in 1995 as a "Welcome to the Village of White Fox, built by Families for Families, population 465".[26] North of White Fox is "Tobin Lake, located 275 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. Created in 1963 by the damming of the Saskatchewan River, Tobin boasts more than 75,000 acres (300 km²) of sandy shoals, shallow bays and submerged timber."[27] The E.B. Campbell Dam can be accessed from the south east shore of Tobin Lake. SK Hwy 35 skirts along the north west shore of Tobin Lake, giving access to fishing locales from the highway access, such as Carrolls Cove Campground, Carol's Cove and Pruden's Point Resort, and Pruden's Point. Whereas, Scot's Landing is located on the Saskatchewan River.[28]