Saskatoon city council to approve second phase of controversial freeway project

Possible heritage designation for swale Celebrated for its pristine grasslands and historical and cultural significance, the northeast swale could gain heritage designation.

A local environmental group is rallying support against a proposed freeway around Saskatoon that would pass through two sensitive natural wetlands.

On Wednesday, city councillors are being asked to approve the second phase of the Ministry of Highways project, running from Highway 11 south of Saskatoon around the east side of the city up to the South Saskatchewan River.

While the ministry doesn't require city council's endorsement, administration says it will provide certainty to landowners and developers.

The development received criticism as it passed through committee in February, and this week councillors will be presented with close to 200 emails and letters in opposition to the roadway, which local group Swale Watchers says will cause “irreversible harm” to the Northeast and Small Swales — natural low-lying wetlands that support a diverse range of sensitive species.

Many of the emails contain the Swale Watchers’ advice for the project. They ask councillors not to endorse this draft, to call on the Saskatchewan government to find a route for the freeway that does not intrude on the swales, and to require the ministry to guarantee the project will be subject to a thorough environmental impact assessment.

In a letter to council dated March 12, Margaret Corbett describes the swales as “refuges for nature and for the people of Saskatoon.”

“These ribbons of native grassland and natural wetlands support an astonishing abundance of life, including at least 49 species so rare that they are listed as species of conservation concern. In a time of ever worsening biodiversity losses, natural areas of this diversity and importance should be protected from development,” Corbett writes.

“The damage and degradation this development would cause is well documented.”

Corbett says she’s not opposed to a freeway being built, but she wants to see a route that doesn’t go through the swales.

In its final design draft report to the city, the Ministry of Highways acknowledges the potential impact on the swales.

“Project designs should consider minimizing direct impacts to these features where possible,” the ministry says.

Should those impacts be “unavoidable,” the ministry proposes to mitigate them by taking measures to preserve drainage patterns, building fences to restrict wildlife access to the road, and adding wildlife crossings.

Since the swale would form a part of the road drainage network, the ministry says it would use forebay systems to pre-treat potentially toxic road runoff to “ensure that surface water inputs into the swale do not cause adverse impacts to the ecological function.”

The Saskatchewan Government has been working with the city on the proposed ring road since 1999. It’s intended to connect Highways 11 and 14 while bypassing the city.

In April 2022, council endorsed phase one of the plan which focused on the route from Highway 16 northwest of Saskatoon east to the South Saskatchewan River.

A few months before that vote, the province said it would postpone planning for phase three of the project, which would connect Highway 7 west of Saskatoon to Highway 16 northwest of the city.

However, Tuesday's city administration report to the committee said the province reversed course last September and said phase three planning would move forward.

The report noted this planning work is underway and should wrap up by the end of this year.

-With files from Hayatullah Amanat