Murray Wood: The day Canada Became a nation
April 9, 1917 was Easter Monday. On that date, 109 years ago, Canadian soldiers made history at Vimy Ridge. Murray Wood ...
The biggest infrastructure project in the province’s history is nearing a major milestone.
As of Tuesday, the Regina Bypass undertaking is 43 per cent complete.
One of the major contributors to the project is Mother Nature.
Darrel Trapp, manager for area two, said workers encountered an issue with how swiftly winter left the province. They were constructing some bridges over Wascana Creek while it was frozen.
“Right now, with the wet conditions due to the spring thaw, we couldn’t get as far as we wanted to,” Trapp said. “But it’s not going to impact our schedule.”
David Stearns echoed that sentiment, saying the project continues to be on schedule and on budget.
Stearns noted the south bypass will have a major impact on traffic on Victoria Avenue East, with 70 per cent, especially the truck traffic, being diverted away from the city.
“We would anticipate a safety improvement overall on Victoria Avenue as well as a congestion relief,” he said.
The north section of the project, known as area one, is around 30 per cent complete and area two is around 50 per cent finished.
The first phase of the project to be substantially completed this fall is the stretch from Highway 33 to Balgonie, with the White City interchange set to open first.
Additional work will also be done on the highway in the spring between the Tower Road interchange and Pilot Butte access one, with an extra lane being added in both directions.
