Broadway Bridge closure poses a challenge for Saskatoon running club

During the summer months, the sounds of vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists can usually be heard on the Broadway Bridge in Saskatoon.

But with construction on the 92-year-old bridge slated to start on May 12, everyone will have to find a new way to get to and from downtown. The bridge will be closed for about six months to accommodate improvements to multi-use pathways and repairs to the bridge deck.

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For members of the YXE Running Club, the closure means changing a major part of their routine.

“The Broadway Bridge is integral to distance running in Saskatoon,” said Lyndon Smith, YXE Run Club organizer. “I would say we run the Broadway Bridge probably every second or third week.”

The club meets every Wednesday, and Smith said he’s hearing from runners asking him to incorporate the bridge into the club’s route during the final week before construction begins.

“They’re letting me know that they want to take advantage of it while they still can,” he said.

Smith said he tries to create new routes for the runners every week, but he expects the changes this summer to be significant. He said runners already had to deal with one a change earlier this year after a fire at an encampment under the University Bridge left that bridge temporarily closed, including the trail running underneath it.

Smith said runners from across the city enjoy using the Broadway Bridge whenever they can.

“It is beautiful,” he said. “It’s a softer running surface.”

With the bridge closure quickly approaching, Smith said he expects to see a logjam of pedestrians on the University Bridge, the Traffic Bridge on Victoria Avenue and the Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge on Idylwyld Drive.

“It definitely is a high-traffic road to get downtown,” he said.

“I think a lot of pedestrians are going to end up getting rerouted to the Traffic Bridge or the Idylwyld bridge or the University Bridge.”

Alan Otterbein, manager of design and development at the Meewasin Valley Authority, said the organization expects to see lot of people walking and running along the Meewasin Trail during the summer.

“We’ve had phenomenal usage of the trails in the last four years. We’ve had over two million visits every year,” he said. “Fairly high volumes, and their numbers are trending up every year.”

Otterbein said he expects the trail that runs underneath the Broadway Bridge to stay open during construction.

“I’m going off what the city is saying and telling us,” he said. “They’ve indicated to us that although the walkways on the bridge are going to be closed … they’re hoping to keep the Meewasin Trail on both sides open as much as possible.”

Otterbein said he believes scaffolding will be in place to allow the trail to stay open as construction progresses.