Saskatoon receives $30M injection for southeast interchange

One of Saskatoon's priority infrastructure projects received a $30 million injection thanks to the provincial and federal governments.

On ThursdayAmarjeet Sohi, the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities and Jim Reiter, Minister of Government Relations for Saskatchewan, announced funding support for an interchange at Highway 16 and Boychuk Drive in Saskatoon's southeast corner.

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Currently the intersection consistently sees long lineups of cars during the morning and evening rush hours. A new interchange would replace the eastbound left-turn lane on Highway 16 and Boychuk Drive with a left-turn loop, resolving safety and traffic flow issues in the area.

"All you have to do is ask the people who live in the Rosewood area," Mayor Don Atchison said. "Ask all those families about having to [line up] on Highway 16 with vehicles going by at 110 km/h or faster, their cars rocking along the way back and forth and wondering how safe is this?"

Minister Reiter echoed the mayor's remarks adding the rapid growth Saskatoon has led to increased pressures on the city's roadways and this project should help alleviate some of the strain.

"When you get that much traffic congested like that, you have to have the appropriate infrastructure to deal with it, so this interchange, I think, is what our engineers tell us is really needed here," Reiter said. "For not just the current population, but we expect the population to continue to grow, so it's going to help for that as well."

The contribution from the upper levels of government is part of the Building Canada Fund, where the provincial, federal and municipal governments split the cost of an infrastructure project three ways. Both the provincial and federal governments are contributing up to $14.7 million each into the project. The City of Saskatoon is covering the remainder of the $45.1 million project.

For more information on the project visit www.saskatoon.ca/boychukinterchange