REPAIRS BEGIN ON HIGHWAY 11 & 16 CLOVERLEAF OVERPASSES

The City of Saskatoon will begin necessary repairs on the Highway 11 and 16 overpasses at the cloverleaf intersection on Tuesday, May 19. The traffic detour will begin on Monday, May 18. The work is expected to last approximately four months, weather permitting and barring any unforeseen circumstances.

“The work will extend the life of these important pieces of infrastructure and ensure their continued use in the future,” says Rob Frank, Engineering Manager for Asset Preservation. “As part of our yearly bridge and overpass inspection program, both the University Bridge rehabilitation project and the Highway 11 & 16 cloverleaf were identified as needing immediate repairs. Maintaining City infrastructure and bridges is important to Saskatoon.”

While there is no current risk of danger, the engineering assessment at the cloverleaf concluded immediate repairs to the ends of the support beams were required to restore their structural capacity. Delaying the repairs would result in continued deterioration of the structures and necessitate the closure of lanes and the restriction of heavier vehicles.

In order to minimize disruption to drivers, significant planning has gone into developing a detour plan that allows the continued movement of traffic in all directions. Temporary detour structures are being built to allow at least a single lane of traffic to continue in both directions for the duration of the project. During phase 1, two-way traffic will be accommodated on the westbound overpass while work is carried out on the eastbound structure. During Phase 2 the traffic detour will reverse while repairs are made to the westbound structure. Traffic will be required to slow to 60 km/h through the construction zone.

“The traffic restrictions that have been in place over the past two weeks have accommodated construction of those temporary structures,” says Frank. “We know this is having an impact on traffic flow in the area. If everybody obeys the signage, in particular the zipper merge, we anticipate a 5 to 10 minute delay to drivers for the remainder of the project.”

To zipper merge correctly, as you see the “lane closed ahead” sign and traffic backing up, stay in your current lane up to the point of merge. Then take turns with other drivers to safely and smoothly ease into the remaining lane. Vehicles in the merging lane must signal, and drivers in the through lane must let one vehicle merge. It’s important to note that this makes the traffic flow more quickly and efficiently for drivers in both lanes.

The City thanks drivers for their patience while this necessary work is carried out. For more information about the project visit saskatoon.ca and search ‘cloverleaf’.

Slow down, pay attention and respect work zones. Watch for pedestrians and work crews, and for everyone’s safety, please obey all detours, signs and barriers.

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 and with #betterroadsYXE.