Circle Drive Bridge (Saskatoon)
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| Circle Drive Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Circle Drive Bridge |
|
| Official name | Circle Drive Bridge |
| Carries | 5 lanes (being widened to 6 lanes) |
| Crosses | South Saskatchewan River |
| Locale | Saskatoon |
| Maintained by | City of Saskatoon |
| Opening date | July 1, 1983 |
Circle Drive Bridge spans the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada. It was built in 1983 as part of the Circle Drive freeway system in northeast Saskatoon. It is presently the northernmost bridge in the city, and the most recent to be built.
As with other bridges in the city, locals use several different names for this bridge. During construction there was an unsuccessful campaign to have it named after recently-deceased former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. Longtime Saskatonians also refer to it as the 42nd Street Bridge, a reference to a former name of the northern east-west leg of Circle Drive dating back to the 1960s.
The Circle Drive Bridge is a twin span bridge; it has been designed so that, in the future, more lanes can be added by filling in the centre. Early published plans for the bridge called for the addition of an observation deck/interpretive centre to the underside of the bridge at that point, but it is not known as yet whether these plans will be carried out in the future.
In 2006 construction started on adding a third outside lane in both directions in order to increase capacity and ease congestion during peak traffic times. The bridge was completed in 2007. Rather than widening the bridge by filling in the centre gap, it was deemed to be more cost effective to convert the outside pedestrian walkways into driving lanes. A new pedestrian walkway was built below and between the two bridge structures, and opened in July 2007.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Webpage about the bridge
- Circle Drive Widening - City of Saskatoon Infrastructure Services
