The City of Regina is touting the completion of its multi-year revitalization of a vital downtown street. The city announced Friday the 11th Avenue revitalization project has been finished on-time and under-budget. In a statement, Mayor Chad Bachynski underscored the importance of investing in core infrastructure while balancing the effect on local businesses. “These improvements will strengthen the reliability of essential services for years to come while helping create the conditions for continued investment and revitalization in Regina’s downtown,” Bachynski said. The project, which began in 2023, consisted of road upgrades, sidewalks, lighting and underground infrastructure along 11th Ave between Albert Street and Broad Street. “The plan focuses on creating a downtown that is more walkable, welcoming, and safe while continuing to encourage investment, business growth, and community development,” said Kurtis Doney, Deputy City Manager of Operations. Doney noted that infrastructure such as storm sewer, wastewater and water infrastructure has all been fully replaced. The estimate is that the new infrastructure is designed to last around 100 years before they’d need to be upgraded again. Though the city doesn’t have an exact number, Doney estimated the project will remain five to 10 per cent under budget - around $1.5 - 2 million. The approved budget for the project was approximately $37.5 million. The project was undertaken alongside SaskPower and SaskTel – which allowed for major utility upgrades to be implemented along with the city’s work. “Probably the most important thing is building relationships with businesses, having face to face conversations with them, talking about what they need to ensure their business is successful and how we can adapt construction to make it successful for both residents and businesses,” Doney said. “The other thing is trying to do as much due diligence as possible with undergrounds when we have an area like this that’s been here forever that’s been in the city since the early 1900s. There are a lot of unknowns in the underground infrastructure and the way that the buildings are built.” The city says finishing features such as benches, heated transit shelters, garbage bins and landscaping elements will be installed throughout the fall – into next spring. As part of the finishing touches, trees are scheduled to be planted on Saturday, Oct. 17, which will cause a short-term road closure.
