REGINA’S BILLIONDOLLAR BYPASS
Regina’s bypass project has been described as the biggest transportation infrastructure project in Saskatchewan history. Today, Leader-Post reporters Natascia Lypny and
Emma Graney take a look at how the project will come together. How do the provincial government and the affected communities plan on getting this thing done? How will the public-private partnership impact the building and maintenance of 60 kilometres of roadway and associated interchanges? And how are all those involved planning for the changes that will come to our communities as the bypass is being built?
Their stories, which form the conclusion of our threeday examination of the bypass, appear on
After nearly two decades of studies, planning and consultations, the Regina bypass is finally moving ahead.
And, in a Ministry of Highways first for the province, the bypass will be built using a public-private partnership (P3).
The P3 model is seen as something of a quick fix for projects like the province’s shiny new schools and longterm care home, and the bypass is no exception.
Assistant deputy minister Ron Gerbrandt lists the usual P3 pros: Timely completion, risks of delays and cost overruns are transferred to the private sector, a “fairly high degree of certainty” about maintenance costs, the ability to “drive innovation” in design.
If government had taken the traditional financing route, he says, it would take another 10 years for the road to be built.
And that, he says, is not good enough, particularly for those in bedroom communities, who “see the safety concerns, the safety issues today.”
“For them, being able to complete it in next three to four years was one of the more important driving factors.”
When the idea of a bypass was first floated, it was simply a road to go around southeast Regina.
The plan now incorporates the west Regina bypass and overpasses at Balgonie, White City and Pilot Butte, which makes the project far more attractive to the private sector.
Saskatchewan is by no means the first to use private financing to build transport infrastructure.
Jurisdictions across North America and Europe have taken that route, and Gerbrandt says Saskatchewan has had “extensive discussions” with other provinces in Canada who have built P3 highway projects.
Three companies have already been shortlisted for the project and, although the route is set, the winner will have the opportunity to tweak the plan.
Some communities already have requests.
In White City, Mayor Bruce Evans is hoping for an extension of an existing road from a planned town centre — southwest of the city by Chuka Creek — to the Pilot Butte interchange.
The mayor also plans to lobby the successful bypass bidder to construct a pedway for the Highway 48 overpass with the hope of directing the Trans-Canada Trail south through White City.
Farther east, Balgonie is working with the government on the issue of access to the community. The highway interchange is set to feed into Highway 304. Mayor Frank Thauberger wants to make sure access to the Trans-Canada is maintained at Main Street.
Surrounded by highway and train tracks, Thauberger doesn’t want Balgonie’s evacuation route restricted.
“We need more than one area to get out of town if there was ever an emergency response,” he says.
The RM of Sherwood is hoping for changes to the plan, too, especially the design of the Centre Road interchange. The municipality is crossing its fingers for a full interchange to encourage development in the area.
“We need to come to the table to get it resolved somehow,” says deputy reeve Tim Probe.
Gerbrandt is hopeful the final contractor “drives innovation” in terms of traffic operation, safety and cost savings.
The incentive? The fact they will be looking after the bypass for the next 30 years.
“I think where they will find their biggest innovation is the construction delivery, and what they can do upfront to minimize their longterm operating and maintenance costs,” he says.
That could mean moving the road slightly or using a more hard-wearing paint on lines.
The successful bidder will also be in charge of snow clearing the bypass “to ministry-prescribed standards.” Highway crews that currently work on the BalgonieRegina section of the TransCanada will be redeployed to other roads.
The contract will require the bypass to be handed back to the province “in near-new condition” after 30 years. The deal will also include at least one rehabilitation.
“So basically, you don’t turn it back, and the day after, it falls apart,” Gerbrandt says.
If that happens, Gerbrandt says, “there are legal and financial implications ... so we have the ability to recapture some of those costs or go after them.”
And if the company doesn’t meet performance targets along the way, it won’t get paid.
The key is working out payments: Too much cash upfront, and the private contractor “can get up and walk away.”
That’s why “there are substantial payments after the work is done,” Gerbrandt says, “to make sure they have what I call ‘skin in the game.’ ”
Not everyone is keen on P3s.
Provincial auditors in British Columbia and Ontario have recently questioned the amount of extra cash their province pays for P3s by way of interest, and the Saskatchewan NDP has long opposed the model.
Still, the ministry is steadfast that using a P3 is the most efficient way of finally moving a 15-year-old project forward.
“What we want is a bypass from Balgonie, around the south of Regina to Highway 11, at 110 km/h,” Gerbrandt says.
“At the end of the day, that’s the ultimate goal — to increase the safety on the network, support the economy.
“What we build today will hold us for the next 30 to 50 years.”