Crews Working Day & Night Building Better Roads

With only about a week of actual summer left, City and contractor crews are working around the clock to complete the ambitious list of construction projects on Saskatoon’s roads.

“The City’s top priority is to improve the overall condition of the road network and we continue to look for ways to rehabilitate as many roads as possible, with the least impact to drivers,” says Angela Gardiner, Director of Transportation. “By strategically packaging projects and leveraging on advances in technology, we are getting better pricing, completing more work and achieving more work hours in a season.”

Night work is a major contributor to the progress because it allows large projects to be completed with minimal disruption to commuters. About 45 of the 233 lane kilometers planned for this construction season have been done at night – that’s about the distance from City Hall to Delisle.

Night work typically occurs between 8:00 pm and 6:00 am on high-traffic roads where noise doesn’t interrupt residential areas, primarily in warmer months if water trucks, paving and concrete products are required. There are exceptions for some water and sewer projects, street sweeping and snow operations that can pass through residential areas quickly and quietly during overnight hours. 

So far this summer, the following projects have been completed overnight:

• Paving on 8th Street between Preston Avenue & Arlington Avenue
• Paving on Circle Drive overpass & ramps at Idylwyld Drive
• Paving on College Drive at Preston Avenue  
• Washing and sealing on all bridges and overpasses
• Painting crosswalk and lane markings  on high volume roadways
• Repairing guardrail and chain link fencing
• Street sweeping on high-traffic streets and Business Improvement Districts

Ongoing projects include:

• Paving on College Drive pedestrian overpass
• Paving on Faithful Avenue between Circle Drive & 50th Street

Year-round night work programs include:

• Emergency road maintenance
• Pothole repairs and utility cut maintenance
• Debris pickup
• Drainage on roads and at catch basins
• Median cleaning  
• Snow grading, removal and storage
• Ice management

“We will continue to look for opportunities to perform work on the road at night as long as we can do it safely,” says Gardiner. “It is imperative that drivers remain focused, pay attention to their surroundings and expect to see work zone signs at any time of day or night.”

As always, drivers are reminded to slow down, pay attention and obey signage around work zones at all times. For more information, please visit saskatoon.ca/betterroads. 

Video of recent night work is available here: Night Construction Work

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Know before you go! Plan your route around road work by checking our Road Restrictions and Construction Projects interactive map. Find traffic detour information and subscribe to Traffic Detour Service Alerts at saskatoon.ca/service-alerts. You can also follow us on Twitter @YXEServiceAlert.