This weekend, around 20,000 drivers in Saskatoon can look forward to relief. The Broadway Bridge, closed since May for extensive rehabilitation, is set to reopen on Saturday night, as announced by the City of Saskatoon on Thursday. Although earlier in the day, there was uncertainty about the exact reopening time, Matt Jurkiewicz, the City of Saskatoon’s director of construction and design, mentioned on a radio show that they were aiming for Friday’s end.
Jurkiewicz cautioned that inclement weather like rain or snow might cause delays but assured that the bridge would be operational for Monday morning commuters. Once reopened, motorists heading north into downtown will face a reconfigured intersection at Fourth Avenue and 19th Street, replacing the previous unconventional convergence with a more standard T intersection equipped with three sets of traffic lights and pedestrian crossings.
As of Thursday, the bridge appeared nearly completed, with lane dividing lines painted and paving finished. Work on the bridge spans and other infrastructure underneath will continue post-reopening. During a city council meeting on Wednesday, Mayor Cynthia Block pressed Terry Schmidt, the city’s general manager of transportation and construction, about the reopening timeline. Schmidt confirmed that crews were working diligently to address any remaining deficiencies to meet the week’s end deadline.
The $15.5-million contract for the bridge upgrade was awarded to Julmac Contracting Ltd., an Ontario-based company specializing in bridge rehabilitation. The construction project involved deck repairs, installation of new traffic barriers, upgrades to the railing and arches, and the removal of old utilities beneath the bridge. Notably, the Broadway Bridge, constructed in just 11 months during the Great Depression at a cost of $850,000, is Saskatoon’s steepest bridge and typically handles 20,000 vehicles daily when operational.