Sid Buckwold Bridge opens for the winter

The Bridge City is ready to return to normal.

The Sid Buckwold Bridge is set to open to traffic on Friday following more than six months of construction on the major thoroughfare in Saskatoon.

The bridge will close for the winter to complete the second phase of the two-phase construction project.

In the spring and summer of 2020, the northbound lanes and the walkway of the bridge will close for rehabilitation that includes: milling the existing asphalt and concrete, resurfacing the bridge and the ramps over 19th Street, strengthening the piers holding up the ramps, widening the pedestrian walkways and replacing the barriers on the bridge with much taller ones.

This summer, roughly 348 metric tonnes of pigeon poop were removed the bridge.

Here's a fancy graphic showing lane restrictions for each phase. Lanes will be opened during winter months. #yxe pic.twitter.com/MhrTmfn6S8

— Keenan Sorokan (@KeenanSorokan) March 27, 2019

When construction begins in April, two lanes of southbound traffic will be open and one lane moving northbound will remain open.

Construction is set to finish by Oct. 31, 2020.