Feds, province promise money for new Saskatoon interchange

Funding was announced on Thursday for an interchange to be built at the intersection of Highway 16 and Boychuk Drive.
 
Representatives from the federal, provincial and municipal governments were on hand for an afternoon event at Fire Station 8 on Slimmon Road.
 
Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Amarjeet Sohi spoke on behalf of the federal government, announcing that Ottawa would contribute up to $14,730,392 to the project, following a successful application from the city to the Building Canada Fund.
 
Saskatchewan Minister of Government Relations Jim Reiter announced that the province would match the federal contribution.
 
The money from Ottawa and the province amounts to about two-thirds of the estimated $45,180,000 cost of the project. The remaining third will be paid by the city.
 
Mayor Don Atchison said the intersection has long been a trouble spot with many commuters expressing concerns about being stuck lined up in left-turn lanes with traffic whizzing by at highway speeds.
 
Atchison said the city began a search for builders while the Building Canada Fund application was in process. He said it will be some weeks yet before a builder is picked and timelines for when work will start are established.
 
Part of the city’s contribution will come from interchange levies charged on land sales in new communities that will benefit from the project.