Road construction season in Saskatoon has been a particularly tiring one for Saskatoon commuters as many of the main roadways face rehabilitation, resurfacing and repairs.
A Saskatoon Reddit post stating, “I’m convinced the City of Saskatoon is intentionally trying to cause traffic jams” was posted Thursday with more than 100 comments from residents sharing their grievances about traffic in the city.
The city started off 2023 with a big project, beginning rehabilitation of the Circle Drive North Bridge at the end of February, which has forced Saskatoon residents to face the dreaded zipper merge.
A more recent incident that required emergency repairs has compounded congestion after a water main break shut down northbound Circle Drive at 33rd Street.
The work was supposed to be wrapped up on Tuesday, but got worse after more water main breaks occurred during the repair process.
The city said that portion of the road should be opening up later this week, but no specific date was set.
More work is expected along Circle Drive North throughout the season as the resurfacing of the westbound lanes between Millar Avenue and Alberta Avenue is slated for this year.
Currently, the city has several projects without a specific start date:
- Resurfacing of Preston Avenue along several sections
- Resurfacing of Idylwyld Drive in the southbound lanes between Marquis Drive and 51st Street
- University Bridge arch repairs, which include repairing concrete and fixing drainage
A list of water main replacement projects are also slated for this year, including:
- 6th Street East/Broadway Avenue
- 33rd Street West
- Capilano Drive
- Churchill Drive/Churchill Court
- Downtown
- King George
- Varsity View
The number of road construction projects listed for the year has caused other disruptions in the community, with the Saskatoon Ex announcing that it would be moving forward this year without a parade, citing downtown road construction as the cause.
The City of Saskatoon sent a statement, noting current projects underway are on schedule.
“This year’s downtown water main replacement projects are progressing on schedule, with the current phase of work focused on the block of 21st St E between Fourth Ave S and Spadina Cres E,” the statement read.
“The Circle Drive North Bridge Rehabilitation project is progressing on schedule. The next major phase of work, which will see both directions of traffic transition to the west bound lanes, is set to begin in the near future, barring weather delays or unforeseen circumstances. The bridge project is slated for completion in October.”
The city noted that the major summer road resurfacing projects are planned throughout July and August.