$65M of road construction to take over high-traffic areas this summer

The City of Saskatoon is tackling some major roadways during the 2022 construction season.

As part of the city’s $65.16 million construction budget unveiled Thursday, Circle Drive North between Alberta Avenue and Millar Avenue will be repaved, and the Attridge Drive overpass above Circle Drive will receive some major rehabilitation work.

Terry Schmidt, the city’s general manager of transportation and construction, understands congestion along these major routes is going to be a pain in the asphalt.

“We thank you for the patience. This work will take time. There are always disruptions to traffic when we are doing work,” Schmidt said. “We do our best to minimize those disruptions as much as we can.”

Work on Circle Drive will begin in the next “week or so” and is expected to take two months to complete. First, there will be concrete improvements on the medians and curbs before the eastbound lanes are resurfaced. Crews will return next year to resurface the west bound lanes to avoid major traffic disruptions on both sides at the same time.

Beginning in July, the 22-year-old Attridge Drive overpass will undergo preventative maintenance, like repaving to extend its lifespan at least another 15 years. The 90-year-old Spadina Crescent Bridge will be closed for roughly one month beginning next week as the bridge deck, asphalt, concrete, and security fencing underneath are repaired or replaced.

“There will be traffic delays and detours throughout Saskatoon all summer as we work to improve and clean up hundreds of kilometres of roads within a relatively short period of time,” Schmidt said.

Resurfacing on Warman Road over Circle Drive, and intersection improvements at Warman Road and 33^rd Street are also included in the summer construction plan.  This includes adding a new turning lane to better accommodate south bound traffic on Warman Road turning right onto 33^rd Street.

Road and sidewalk improvements will be noticeable in King George, Nutana, and North Downtown. Those improvements are completed at the same time as water main and lead service line connection replacements. The city’s goal is to have all lead service line connections replaced by 2027.

Pothole patching and other road construction has already begun as the busy summer construction season has officially begun.