Saskatoon overpasses damaged, taxpayers on the hook for bill

Saskatoon taxpayers could be on the hook for a big repair bill after two separate hit-and-run incidents before Christmas involving overpasses.

Both incidents happened on the evening of Dec. 20.

The first collision happened at around 6:15 p.m. The city said a southbound truck on Idylwyld Drive was hauling a large excavator exceeding height restrictions when the excavator hit and damaged girders underneath the 51st Street overpass.

Less than an hour later at around 7 p.m., the cloverleaf overpass at Circle Drive and Highway 11 was also hit by a vehicle exceeding height restrictions.

“This collision exposed reinforcing steel in the concrete and caused the rocky debris to fall, damaging an adjacent vehicle,” the city said in a release.

“City engineers have inspected both overpasses, which are safe and remain open to traffic.”

The cost of repairs is going to be significant, according to the city, with preliminary estimates in the hundreds of thousand of dollars.

The city says the money for repairs will come from a reserve fund unless the drivers responsible are found.

Anyone who may have witnessed these incidents is asked to contact police.

Damage to Highway 11 and Circle Drive cloverleaf after a hit-and-run on Dec. 20, 2023. (City of Saskatoon/Submitted)