page_title: Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure (Saskatchewan)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure (Saskatchewan) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Village of Vosnesenya - Thunder Hill Colony. Architecture and Village layout copied from the Doukhobor Villages in Caucasia. (For location, north-east of Arran, SK, see http://www.doukhobor.org/North.gif)
context_page_description: The Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure is divided into the Operations, Policy and Programs, and Corporate Services Divisions and the Communications Branch. The ministry is the employer of over 1,476 employees diversified amongst 105 communities in Saskatchewan. The current Minister of Highways and Infrastructure is Greg Ottenbreit.
context_section_description: Up until 1904 all municipal affairs were administered by the Territorial Dept. of Public Works.  In 1904, [Churchbridge]...became a portion of a larger area known as a Local Improvement District of approximately 144 square miles (370 km²) square miles...Road construction costs around 1900, were very low.  The cost of building a road 20 feet (6.1 m) wide with an 0 feet 18 inches (0.46 m) crown cost approximately $30, per 1 mile (1.6 km) 
  — The First Hundred Years : Around Churchbridge, 1880-1980.
  A person could work for the municipality and have his earnings put toward the taxes on his land; at one time, money collected in each Division stayed in that Division....The RM has as its responsibilities for many areas: agricultural programs and concerns in general; tax collections for needs of the municipality — road construction and maintenance; protective services — pest control, fire protection, weed control, environmental development, cultural and educational services; medical and veterinary needs and so forth.
  — Tecumseh No. 65 
   
  Originally roadwork was done by horsepower, and the municipality owned its horses and equipment.  It was found that roadwork under the supervision of a councilor cost half as much as that under a road commission system.  There were problems with labor.  One cold November payday the whole crew quit, with not one left to even feed the horses.  In 1909 a foreman shot one of his crew; the [Indian Head] council minutes make no further comment.
  — History of Indian Head and District Inc., Indian Head: history of Indian Head and district (1981)
  The building of these roads is under the personal supervision of the rural councilors of the R.M.  The Provincial Government each year makes a substantial grant to the Municipality for permanent trunk road building.
  — Moosomin, Saskatchewan. Board of Trade, Progressive Moosomin, industrial and commercial centre of Saskatchewan(1981)
   
   
  In 1913 the road system consisted of miles of prairie trails. The roads gradually improved with the assistance of jointly funded Provincial and Municipal road programs such as the Grid Road program, the Main Farm Access program, and the Super Grid system which led to the eventual formation of Municipal Maintenance Areas. The RM's of Gull Lake, Carmichael, and Webb formed Maintenance Area No. 1, the first in the Province.
  — Sask Biz Piapot No. 110
  During the term of office for Eiling Kramer, 1972–1980, the Provincial Highway received extensive funding and paving for the entire system neared completion.Saskatchewan Highway 11 was restructured under the term of office of David Boldt, Minister 1966-1971. 	
  John T. Douglas, during his term of office 1944-1960 established the Saskatchewan Transportation Company as a Crown Corporation of the government. Alan Carl Stewart, Minister of Highways 1929-1934, allocated $20 million for highway construction in Saskatchewan. George Spence, Minister of Highways 1927-1929, was responsible for the initiation of numbering Saskatchewan highways.
  The first Board of Highways Commissioners was appointed by the provincial government in 1912, and the first Department of Highways was established in 1917. On September 1, 1934, the name was changed from the Department of Highways to the Department of Highways and Transportation.  Effective November 21, 2007 the Department of Highways and Transportation became the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure.
caption: Dirt road during horse and cart era
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