Bridge city could get another bridge by 2021

Bridge city could get another bridge by 2021 Although the plan is in its earliest stages, Saskatoon could see a new way to cross the river, in just a few years.

Although the plan is in its earliest stages, Saskatoon could see a new way to cross the river, dedicated to active transportation, in just a few years

The City of Saskatoon has issued a request for quotations for the design of a bridge that would function as both a cyclist and pedestrian crossing and sanitary sewer crossing.

“Prior to proceeding with the sanitary sewer crossing, we want to identify if there’s an opportunity to coordinate the infrastructure, or at least provide flexibility to do so in the future,” Angela Gardiner, acting general manager, Transportation and Construction Department, said in an email to CTV News

“It must be stressed this is very preliminary work to see if something like this would even work.”

The proposed location is roughly halfway between the existing Circle Drive and Chief Mistawasis bridges near Agra Road and Lenore Drive.

The idea comes from a 2015 Saskatoon Water feasibility assessment of providing a sanitary pipe across the South Saskatchewan River, she said.

That study preferred a pipeline bored beneath the river over a utility bridge, but since then the idea of an Active Transportation connection at that location was developed and included as a future initiative in the Active Transportation Plan, she said.

Engineering and planning work is required to determine the connection might look like, what construction costs would be and where the project could be built in stages, she said.

The crossing would connect the east bank and the west bank south of the wastewater treatment plant to service new developments in University Heights and must be completed by the end of 2021, the request says.

The crossing would also provide better active transportation connectivity between the east and west banks of the river, and the request calls for a minimum five-metre walkway.

The design must also allow for anticipated for electrical and communications utilities on the bridge, as other utility providers may be interested in using the new crossing, the request says.

The submission deadline is Feb. 27.