Saskatoon’s new crossings appeared to make the morning commute easier for drivers Wednesday, though the city needs time to measure the effect of the Chief Mistawasis Bridge and new Traffic Bridge.
Viewing traffic from a Cessna 172 plane Wednesday, 650 CKOM traffic reporter Jay Thomas noticed a difference in the city’s north end.
“I think there was a huge impact with our new Chief Mistawasis Bridge open, as well as Central Avenue and McOrmond Drive,” Thomas said.
The city anticipates lower traffic volumes on Attridge Drive and College Drive, along with the University, Broadway, and Sid Buckwold bridges
“We will need time to quantify the shift in traffic patterns in the city as a result of the opening of the two new bridges,” said a statement from Jay Magus, the city’s transportation and engineering manager.
At minimum, crews will assess the following intersections next spring, once traffic counting equipment are functioning and traffic patterns settle:
- McOrmond Drive and Stensrud Road
- McOrmond Drive and Kerr Road
- Attridge Drive and Berini Drive
- Central Avenue and Reid Road
- Idylwyld Drive and Marquis Drive
“Anecdotally we have heard that traffic has shifted from Attridge, but again we will have no numbers until next summer,” Magus said.
Roughly 20,000 drivers are expected to use the Chief Mistawasis Bridge per day in the opening year, according to Dan Willems, the city’s acting general manager of corporate performance.
“That’s expected to grow up to 60,000 vehicles a day when the city reaches half a million people,” Willems told Global News.
The new Traffic Bridge is expected to see average traffic volumes approaching 11,000 vehicles per day with the capacity to handle more than 20,000 vehicles per day.
The Traffic Bridge also allows the Saskatoon Fire Department to service north Nutana from its Idylwyld Drive location.
“We can actually be more efficient because previously we weren’t going across the bridge,” said assistant chief Wayne Rodger.
The new bridges in Saskatoon opened on schedule with a combined cost of $252.6 million.
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