User:SriMesh/Sandbox/Highway5

Highway 5 is designated Saskatchewan Highway West between the Highway 6 junction to the Highway 16 junction in Saskatoon. From Canora to Kamsack signage now denotes the terminioloby as Saskatchewan Highway 5 East. The highway is paved between Saskatoon and Kamsack, and gravel and unpaved through Togo and onwards to the Manitoba border.

A new Humboldt tourist booth was opened in 1971 on the highway edge.

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 Blucher 343. In 1911, 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 alloted 70 cents an hour.

A recent resurfacing was undertaken for a 11.7 km stretch between Mikado and Canora. The $1 million dollar project was completed the summer of 2001. In the summer of 2000, 13.1 km received resurfacing improvements between Verigin and Mikado. In February of 2003, the Department of Highways awarded a tender to re-surface 8 km 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. According to the Atlas of Saskatchewan elevation between Saskatoon is between 500 to 600 m. The highest elevation is near the Manitoba border near Duck Mountain. Highway 5 travels south of Duck Mountain which has an elevation of between 700 to 6800 m.  Leaving Saskatoon, travel will be through a moist mixed grassland ecoregion. Small Aspen groves surround sloughs which intersperse the glacial till landscape. Closer to Humboldt the ecoregion changes to aspen parkland. Grasslands are resident on the upper slopes, and aspen groves on the lower areas. There tend to be more aspen groves in the aspen parkland as compared to the mixed grassland area.

Patience Lake is located at  52.11667°N, -106.33333°W or legal land description of Township 36 - Range 3 -West of the 3rd Meridian. Visible from Highway 5, "Patience Lake is a shallow, permanent, hypersaline lake east of Saskatoon in an area of extensive potash extraction. " The Patience Lake underground potash mine opened in 1975 was thereafter closed in 1987 due to extensive flooding. A new solution mine was re-opened in 1988. Big Quill Lake and Little Quill Lake are located south of Highway 5, Watson provides the northwest access and Wadena the northeast acces to the Lakes. Big Quill Lake is the largest saline lake of a three lake system which includes Little Quill Lake and Mud Lake. There is a copepod {Diaptomus) and a common brine shrimp (artemia) fishery located within this ecoregion as a potassium sulfate production facility. Fishing Lake Regional Park is located south of Highway 5, and was established in 1967 with beaches, golf courses,  camp sites and fishing.  To the north of Highway 5, and east of Kamsack is the Duck Mountain Provincial Park.  This height of land location features Madge Lake, camping, fishing, and horse stables.