This part of the Yellowhead moves east of Lloydminster through fertile farmland across north western Saskatchewanthrough a culturaly diverse region. It is important to the history of Westen Canada for the fur trading fort at Battleford, the first capital of the Northwest Territories, and for its role in the Riel Rebellion. This part of Saskatchewan has very productive oil, heavy oil, and natural gas fields.
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This route roughly follows the path of the North Saskatchewan River from west of North Battleford into Saskatoon. Between Lloydminster and Battleford, the river is north of the highway, ususally well out of sight. From Battleford to Langham the highway travels on the north bank. From Langham, the route continues to Saskatoon, where the South Saskatchewan flows (on its way north from Medicine Hat, Alberta). They join about 30 kilometres (19 mi) downstream of Prince Albert, and from that point the Saskatchewan River flows east into Lake Winnipeg, from which point the Nelson River flows into Hudson’s Bay.
Continuing east from Lloydminster, the highway passes through the Battlefords region, which is made up of North Battleford (on the north side of the river), and Battleford (on the south side of the river). Battleford was the original capital of the Northwest Territories, before the provinces of Saskatchewan and AlbertaHere, visitors can explore Fort Battleford National Historic Site, which is a restored fort that was used by the North-West Mounted Police in the late 1800s.
he highway passes through several small communities, as well as the larger town of Warman. Along the way, there are several rest stops, gas stations, and restaurants for travelers to take a break and refuel. As you approach Saskatoon, the highway hits the ring road (Big Circle Route) which takes drivers around the middle of the city, which is handy if you are on a longer road trip.
Saskatoon has a ring road, the Big Circle Route to move traffic around the city.
To get to the city’s business district from the northwest, you can just continue straight south (which becomes Idlewyld Drive W)/ Louis Riel Trail). To get to the University of Saskatchewan campus, head east on 16 and after crossing the river, head west on #5.
To get to the city’s business district from the southeast,head west on #11 and take the Idlewyld Drive exit. To get to the University of Saskatchewan campus, head north on 16 and then west on #5. As you approach from the east, to get to the Saskatoon airport, it lies northwest of downtown, and to the SW of the Yellowhead.
The beginnings of this overland route was the Carlton Trail for a Red River cart dirt trail which connected Fort Gary, Fort Ellice, Fort Carlton, Fort Battleford, and Fort Pitt through a northerly route. In 1876, Battleford became the capital of the North-West Territories. In those days, the stage coach route followed along to the south of the North Saskatchewan River, and the rail lines was to the north of the North Saskatchewan River. The postal service was later given to the rails, and dissolved the use of the stage coach trail.
Lloydminster was founded by the Barr colonists’ settlement of 1903 on what became the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905. On July 28, 1905, Lloydminster was reached by the Canadian Northern Railway and November 24, 1905, the railway reached Edmonton.
Provincial Highway 14, the precursor of the Yellowhead Saskatchewan Highway 16 followed the surveyed grade of the Manitoba and North West railway, later the CPR between the Manitoba boundary and Saskatoon. In those days many roads in Saskatchewan would have followed the surveyed grid pattern, and had many 90 degree corners which severely limited travel speed.
In 1936, the Borden Bridge (near the town of Borden, northwest of Saskatoon) was constructed to replaced ferry service across the North Saskatchewan River, and by 1955 most of the route northwest of Saskatoon was gravelled. A larger improvement came as the prairies became more industrialized in the 1940s following the return of the soldiers from World War II. Over the 1950s and 1960s the highway was developed and the roadway was straightened out, which caused some towns to disappear when they were disconnected from the Yellowhead route.
By 1947, heavy oil deposits were discovered around Lloydminster, and expanded the Alberta oil boom from the Edmonton-Leduc area to the western edge of Saskatchewan This brought a need to upgrade the roads and highways from meeting farmer’ needs to meeting the industry needs of the Oil Patch.
In 1957, the road was paved to provide an all-weather road to Saskatoon. By 1968 the road was once again rebuilt, re-paved, and the right-of-way widened to 180 feet, and in the summer of 1970 the Yellowhead Route was officially opened.
In 1997, the Yellowhead was twinned between Saskatoon and North Battleford, and in 2003 the stretch between North Battleford and Lloydminster was twinned. In 2016 the stretch east of Sastoon was twinned as far as Clavet (19.5 kilometres)
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