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The City of Regina’s 2025 construction season has officially concluded, along with all the major work on Dewdney Avenue.
The Dewdney Avenue corridor revitalization project began in 2023, with the goal of beautifying the area while also replacing century-old underground infrastructure.
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Deputy city manager Kurtis Doney said the only remaining tasks are adding street furniture.
“Obviously, it’s been a long road the last few months, but we’re extremely happy that the work is completed. It’s open for business and for the holiday season, where everyone can come down and enjoy the area,” Doney told reporters on Monday.
Deputy city manager Kurtis Doney said the only remaining work on Dewdney is adding street furniture. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)
Doney said the project makes Dewdney safer.
“We’ve got safe crosswalks. We’ve got our lights flashing here in red, and they’re doing that for a reason,” Doney said.
“It’s to train residents to stop at traffic lights where they didn’t have traffic lights in the past, and so it’s really important that people know how to go around the area safely, to park properly, and also to make sure that the infrastructure is reliable for the long term.”
The project is also an integral piece of the city’s Yards neighbourhood plan. Doney said the upgraded infrastructure will be able to accommodate further development of the area. Regina City Council is expected to consider issuing a request for proposal on the railyard renewal project on Wednesday.
The new traffic lights were flashing red throughout the day on Monday. The City of Regina said it was to train drivers to stop at the new signals. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)
‘Huge sense of relief’
With Dewdney open once again, businesses like Rebellion Brewing can expect to see more foot and vehicle traffic in the area.
While some businesses drew fewer customers during the construction project, many were still accessible, albeit from different roads.
Mark Heise, Rebellion’s president and CEO, said his business was the only one that was completely inaccessible by road during the work.
“It’s nothing but a huge sense of relief and excitement,” Heise said on Monday.
“Everyone’s already talking about the future, what’s to come, all that sort of stuff. The future is bright. The Warehouse District, Dewdney Avenue, is the place to be.”
Mark Heise of Rebellion Brewing said the company had to work extra hard to stay afloat during the construction project. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME).
Heise said the construction caused many issues for his business.
“Canada Post shut off our mail because they said they could not figure out how to deliver our mail. Google Maps, for the last two years, was not updated, and could not show anyone how to get here, so ride services didn’t work,” he said.
“We had customers come from out of town turn around and drive back home because they couldn’t figure out how to get here. Drivers of semi-trailer shipments of $50,000 worth of empty cans would be circling the brewery for two weeks at a time. They couldn’t figure out how to get here, even with instructions.”
Throughout the construction, Heise said Rebellion took on a proactive approach and hosted many events to try to attract customers.
Heise also said he maintained active engagement with the city, providing feedback at different stages of the construction.
Other projects
Doney said the city will continue work on 11th Avenue next year from Lorne Street and westward.
Meanwhile, he said the water network expansion project in the east is nearing completion, ahead of schedule and below budget.
Doney also noted that work on the southbound bridge of the Albert Street Overpass is completed, with work on the northbound bridge scheduled for 2026.
According to the City of Regina, the total cost of this year’s construction season was $244 million.
Some of the work completed this year included:
- improvements on 27 km of roads as part of the residential road and street infrastructure renewal programs;
- upgrades to 10.8 km of sidewalks;
- removing 291 city-owned lead service connections;
- replacing 5.4 km of water mains; and
- relining 5.8 km of water mains and 960 metres of large-diameter wastewater trunks.
