Saskatchewan reviews overpass safety after surge in crashes

Saskatchewan is looking to make some changes before the number of overpass strikes in the province reaches double digits.

So far this year, there have been nine overpass crashes in Saskatchewan, with seven of them taking place in Saskatoon.

The most recent crash took place Oct. 14 at the intersection of Lorne Avenue and Ruth Street in Saskatoon’s Exhibition area.

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At the time, the City of Saskatoon said the preliminary repair estimate was between $10,000 and $15,000.

Speaking to reporters earlier this week, Highways Minister Kim Gartner said the provincial government has been making efforts to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

“So what we’ve done initially, we’ve gone out and we’ve measured every structure that we have for height, and made sure that our signage is correct. That work has already taken place,” he said.

“We’re also reviewing our permitting processes to make sure they’re being accurately followed, and lastly, what we’re doing is we’re undertaking a multi-ministerial approach to the legislation review to see if there’s anything in there that we can put into place that can assist and help the situation out,” Gartner said.

While work is being done provincewide, Gartner said the majority of the crashes took place in one city in particular.

“Out of the nine hits, one of them was on one of our structures, seven in the city of Saskatoon. So we’re in consultation with the City of Saskatoon, City of Regina, anyone that has structures like that, see if our permitting systems need to align a little bit better, and that work’s undergoing,” he said.

Another preventive measure being implemented by the province is increasing the standard bridge height.

“So currently, the national standard is 4.1 metres. We’ve set our new standard to 5.3, which is well in excess of the national standard,” he said.

“We govern our structures, and all of our structures meet the new standard. I believe there might be one that still needs some further work to do, but everything else meets the new standard,” Gartner said.

Another change being made to some overpasses is the introduction of a new diamond design, which Gartner said would allow truck drivers to avoid travelling underneath an overpass altogether.

“We’ve gone to the new diamond design, which allows truckers, if they’ve got the permit to come through, they go up the off-ramp and go down the on-ramp. They don’t actually have to go underneath the structure. So that’s one type of improvement that we’ve undertaken,” he said.

When asked whether there were any consistent factors contributing to the crashes, Gartner said it was difficult to identify a common cause.

“Each strike is a little different. Some end up being driver responsibility, not following rules, measuring heights, or following the permitted route. Others are drivers coming through that may not understand the route that they’ve taken and the permit that they’ve got, but every situation is different,” Gartner said.