Bridging Creativity and Collaboration

How do you tackle the multi-million dollar rehabilitation of Saskatoon’s iconic University Bridge? You start by building bridges with stakeholders inside and outside the organization.

“Right from the start, our focus was getting everyone on the same page,” explained Todd Grabowski, Manager of Asset Preservation for Bridges. “Anyone or any unit with a role in the project needed to be involved at the outset. We knew that we would need to work as a team to get the best result and minimize the impact on citizens, particularly those living and working in the immediate area.”

A core team representing transit, communications, community engagement, construction, and transportation was formed as soon as the funding was approved, serving as a clearing house for issues, ideas and approaches.

A key question was whether the bridge should be closed entirely or left with one lane open during construction. The answer came through a series of early conversations with stakeholders and cutting edge transportation modeling: it would involve a single lane closure, allowing transit and emergency vehicles with continued access, and sidewalk access for pedestrians and cyclists.

“We started reaching out to stakeholders sooner than we usually do and this earlier notice made all the difference,” observed Arin Jorgenson with the city’s community engagement team. “Getting started early allowed us to test our plans with key stakeholders like police and fire and get their input before taking it to external stakeholders to sharpen our thinking and refine our approach.”

In the end, some 250 stakeholders shaped the City’s approach to the Bridge’s closure, with a little help from the City’s transportation engineers.

“Pretty quickly, we realized that this wasn’t a bridge project, it was a traffic project,” said Jay Magus, Transportation Engineering Manager. “We went to work using some transportation modeling to examine the impacts on city traffic patterns and how long it would take to get from A to B.”

Traffic signals were retimed around the city to allow for a more efficient commute and, for the first time, alternate routes were recommended to drivers to help them identify the most direct route.

This idea of sharing alternative routes with motorists was new for the City, as was the overall tone of the City’s communications around the project.

“We approached the challenge with humour,” said Acting Communications and Marketing Manager Colleen Cameron, whose team spearheaded the ‘This is going to be a pain in the ashphalt’ campaign. “We knew the frustration any closure would cause for citizens so our communications focused on acknowledging the pain and asking for patience. In many ways, it diffused the situation and got everyone pulling in the same direction. After that, it was about getting the right information in the right hands, either directly from us or through our stakeholders. It was a success.”

A key component of the communications strategy focused on presenting public transit as an option to move between downtown and the eastside of the River. Access to the bridge was maintained for Saskatoon Transit so bus riders could continue enjoying uninterrupted service all summer long.

“In the earliest days of the project, we put some of our people at the downtown and university terminals to provide in-­‐person advice on how best to handle the situation and reroute,” explained Chelsea Lanning with Saskatoon Transit. “Instead of just posting the information and putting it out there, we stepped up our customer service and it made transit an attractive option for anyone looking to avoid the gridlock across other bridges.”

At the start of the project, local media outlets predicted that “Bridgemageddon” would grip the summer of 2015. It didn’t happen – thanks to a little creativity and a lot of collaboration.

“It was amazing to see the level of collaboration among our stakeholders and the wider community,” observed Jorgenson. “Inside City Hall and across the city, people took time out of their daily work to step up and help where they could. From the health region to local hotels, everyone seemed genuinely interested in helping to make the most of a challenging situation. Everyone’s willingness to do that was just phenomenal.”

“It was a total team effort,” agreed Grabowski, acknowledging the large number of employees and contractors required to complete the work. “This was complex project with a lot of moving parts that needed everyone pulling in the same direction. We accomplished that, and actually finished early, thanks to good weather, extended work hours from our contractors, and because we worked together.”