A revitalizing nod to the past

Saskatoon Traffic Bridge Replacement

Over a hundred years ago, a bridge was built to connect Saskatoon and Riversdale. The bridge crossed over the South Saskatchewan River, becoming the first vehicular bridge in Saskatoon. The original structure, a five-span Parker-style through-truss bridge is an icon in the community, sitting close to the river with multiple connections to paths and riverbank trails.

Serving as owner’s engineer, our team led the initial inspections, assessments, and planning studies, helping to gather all the facts before the decision was made to close the bridge indefinitely. Following this, the City set out to replace the bridge with a replica of the original. Their goal? Something that pays respect to the past but built for today. It needed to include improved safety considerations and be more accommodating of pedestrian, cyclist, and transit accommodations. Working with the steering committee and stakeholders, our team worked to recreate a bridge, a road, and a path network which are a complementary addition to the surrounding neighborhoods, Saskatoon’s River Landing, and the revitalized downtown core.

The project was delivered as a public-private-partnership and opened to the public in October 2018. While it’s not the same structure, it helps to capture the history of its predecessor as it once again connects the communities within Saskatoon.