No avoiding perimeter price

Drivers may one day travel on a perimeter highway to avoid Saskatoon traffic, but there’s no way to bypass the difficult and expensive process it will take to get there.

The provincial government announced this week the Regina bypass project will cost $1.88 billion, a price tag that does not include land purchases, but still ranks as Saskatchewan’s most expensive infrastructure venture.

Saskatoon’s perimeter highway, which has been in the planning stages since the late 1990s, will almost assuredly take that title if it proceeds as planned.

The last cost estimate for the project that aims to reroute highway traffic around Saskatoon came from the highways minister in March of 2014, when it was slated to cost $2 billion. The minister responsible for SaskBuilds, Gordon Wyant, revealed this week the cost of the Regina bypass rose to $1.88 billion from $1.2 billion in May.

One can only imagine at this stage how the cost for the Saskatoon perimeter highway might balloon to set a new standard for infrastructure projects. Saskatoon is not only a bigger city than Regina, but the region around it is more densely populated. The more people who own and occupy land in the potential path of the pavement, the more problematic and pricey the project becomes. And the South Saskatchewan River poses problems for any transportation in or around Saskatoon.

The ministry has set a preliminary path for the northern half of the circle that aims to one day divert traffic around Saskatoon, connecting Highways 11 and 16 south of the city with the same highways north and west of the city.

Much of the southern half of the route is still being determined, including the crucial points at which the new highway would intersect with the existing ones. A tentative path for a northeast bridge has been established, but whether a southwest river crossing ever gets built is still being decided. It’s already causing some turmoil. A partner in the Silver Sky development planned for just south of Saskatoon says a study of the southwest arc of the highway is already stalling his project. The study area mapped out by the province includes a crescent moon-shaped swath south of the city that rivals Saskatoon in size.

The ministry’s map shows the degree to which any highway will conflict with existing development south of the city. The pending conflict does not excuse a lack of communication and transparency, however. Rather, it’s even more important to make sure people know what’s happening.

The Highways Ministry is striving for sensitivity when it comes to landowners, but there’s also an obligation to explain how and why people’s tax dollars — especially this many of them — are being spent. A second information session was set tentatively for early August, but none has been scheduled so far. Final route options are slated for late fall. The magnitude of this project means it’s vital to keep people informed. Right now, the ministry is avoiding setting a timeline or updated cost for the perimeter highway. As the project proceeds, the province must avoid suddenly springing a multibillion-dollar bill on the province. Everyone already knows it’s going to be a bumpy and expensive ride.