In 1947 and 1948, the highway was paved from North Portal to its junction with Hwy 6 at Corinne. However, the paved surface fell into disrepair within a few years; a Leader-Post reporter wrote in 1953 that "practically the entire road, from North Portal through to Corinne is just a mass of large gaping potholes, ruts, and cracks, and in some places the hard surface is gone completely." Saskatchewan Motor Transport association director A.R. Mang blamed the poor condition of the road on a failure to place a suitable "base course", a layer of gravel and clay, between the pavement and the road's earthen base. A 1955 map shows that a segment between Estevan and Lang had reverted to gravel and a 1956 highway map shows the entire segment between Weyburn and Estevan as a gravel highway. These maps also show the segment between Corinne and the junction with the Trans Canada Highway as gravel. Repairs were carried out at considerable expense, but the situation required temporary bans on heavy traffic and the rerouting of traffic along nearby roads.