Saskatoon freeway could be up to 20 years away

Out-of-town traffic looking to bypass Saskatoon could be waiting longer than expected.

At Monday’s transportation committee meeting, Coun. Randy Donauer said the Saskatoon Freeway Project could be up to two decades away.

“This is a project that the business community and the greater community of Saskatoon has been lobbying for since before I was on council,” he said.

“We’re probably looking at 10 to 20 years before this gets built and only political will will change that.”

The project is an ongoing plan from the provincial government to build a $2-billion bypass around Saskatoon to divert out-of-town traffic. Donauer, a supporter of the project, said it’s an important step towards lowering traffic in the north end of the city.

“(The freeway project) would take thousands of cars and hundreds of trucks off Circle Drive North every day,” he said.

The highway plan has been criticized by environmental groups like the Northeast Swale Watchers. Donauer said it’s important to balance both prompt completion and environmental concerns.

“I completely agree,” he said. “We need to do the proper environmental analysis, but the freeway needs to get built.”

The Saskatoon Freeway Project is designed to relieve traffic from Circle Drive North by allowing Highway 11 traffic to bypass the city.