Officials from the Saskatchewan department of Highways paid another visit to the RM of Weyburn council last week to discuss the deteriorating road from Weyburn to the airport.

The department has been pressuring the RM to take ownership of the road once it has been converted to gravel. RM councillors insist the province must first narrow and repair the road, as well as pay maintenance upfront, before it will accept the responsibility.

Last fall, council rejected a department offer of $100,000 in cash to accept the road, in as-is condition.

This time, a highways official told councillors the department is "not desperate" to turn over the road to the RM.

There won't be a lot of "haggling," warned municipal engineer Doug Kelly. If a new offer from the department is not accepted, that might be the end of it, he said. "It's not a real desirable situation for the department to come up with these dollars."

"(The department's) costs are not that significant on an annual basis," said Kelly. "The road didn't look that bad last summer."

"We're not putting any money into it," added highways area manager Al Seghers.

Reeve Carmen Sterling told them the department will feel pressure from ratepayers as the road continues to deteriorate and warned of the potential for accidents. "If something happens we'll be glad it's in your ballpark," she said.

The RM originally asked for $250,000 in cash, equal to 15 years' annual maintenance, and reconstruction of the road to a solid gravel base before taking it over. "That's the RM's low figure because of the $15,000/year ongoing cost of maintaining the road," said RM administrator Kim McIvor.

Sterling said ratepayers don't want the road returned to gravel from pavement in the first place, especially people who have lived next to a paved road for years.

But Kelly said the department wouldn't consider paying more than 10 years in cash upfront. The RM can realize some additional funds from holding that money in the bank over several years, he said.

The RM also wants $4,000 worth of core testing conducted on the road to determine its condition before agreeing to supervise reconstruction. Councillor Lloyd Culham told the officials the RM will accept the result of department tests but is reluctant to pay the cost itself.