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Traffic on Highway 16 eastbound will still be restricted to one lane until the city can arrange for repairs to be done after a semi-truck hauling equipment crashed into the overpass.
City of Saskatoon director of technical services, Dan Willems, spoke candidly about the city’s frustration with the situation on Friday.
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City of Saskatoon staff and structural engineers assess the damage done after a semi-truck collided with the overpass at Circle Drive and Highways 11/16. (City of Saskatoon/Submitted)
“Signage apparently didn’t help this blockhead realize he was going to cause significant damage and he didn’t have a permit,” Willems told reporters at City Hall in Saskatoon.
After structural inspections on Friday morning, planning for repairs is underway, Willems said. Lifts were required as part of those inspections to better examine the extent of the damage to the bridge.
“They’re lucky nobody was killed,” Willems said, calling the situation “ridiculous” and “extremely frustrating.”
Traffic restrictions were lifted Friday afternoon for the northbound lanes on Highway 11 that pass under the Circle Drive overpass that was damaged, the city said, while eastbound traffic on Highway 16 will remain reduced to a single lane.
Willems noted work is being done to remove loose concrete that poses a safety concern on Highway 11 before both northbound lanes of that roadway can be reopened.
The city hopes to have a contractor in place to begin repairs on the bridge next week and is hoping to prioritize those repairs, though a final timeline is not known yet on when those will be completed.
Willems said the city will consider all legal options available to recover the cost of the repairs.
The Saskatoon Police Service is presently investigating the situation to determine whether it is appropriate to lay charges, he said.
In mid-2025, the city amended Bylaw No. 7200, The Traffic Bylaw, to create a specific offence for damaging city infrastructure with a motor vehicle. The amendment allows the city to seek fines and restitution from the party or parties responsible for such damage directly through the provincial court, rather than through civil litigation.
The city can levy fines up to $10,000 against an individual and $25,000 against a company.
Willems said the change was meant to give the city “a little bit more teeth” to deter these sorts of incidents, even with hit and runs with such significant damages being fairly rare.
Detailing a bit more about the damage on Thursday, Willems said the excavator that was being carried by the semi was sheared in half and “flew off into the median area,” while the trailer was unable to move.
Two girder lines were sheared through by the excavator that was being hauled.
He said the south side of the structure is not safe to carry vehicle weight and will need to remain closed until the steel and concrete can be repaired.
“This bridge has been in place for 60 years. The height hasn’t changed,” Willems noted.
He said the load on the semi was “significantly higher” than the available clearance.
“Even if this bridge was 10 feet taller, it would have hit the next one down the road and probably cause even more damage,” Willems said, noting that some overpasses in the city might have completely collapsed if they had experienced the same impact.
The Circle Drive overpass, he said, has been reinforced substantially in previous years given its position as a main entrance into Saskatoon. It has been hit twice previously, in 2007 and 2016. The damage was significant enough in 2016 to require the city to close a lane on the bridge until repairs were completed.
An update is planned to rehabilitate the overpass, which is about 60 years old, in two years. Willems said the plan for the update is approved, but not yet funded.
Willems said that as of last year, the overpass revitalization was listed as 37th on the city’s list of prioritized infrastructure projects.
Once the structure is deemed safe, the city says it anticipates reopening Highway 11 northbound lanes under the overpass.
City staff and structural engineers immediately went to the accident scene at Circle Drive and Highways 11/16 Thursday evening to assess the extent of damage.
Southbound traffic leaving Saskatoon on Highway 11 and Highway 16 westbound is flowing normally and will not be affected, noted the city.
The semi-trucks on Highway 11 northbound heading to Saskatoon are being redirected around the area at Township 360 by way of Range Road 3050.
The semi-trucks on Highway 11 northbound heading to Saskatoon are being redirected around the area at Township 360 by way of Range Road 3050. (Patrick Janex/Facebook)
A previous release from the Saskatoon Police Service reported that the semi was carrying a piece of equipment from Regina and was in the northbound lane of Highway 11 when it entered the city limits. Police said the load was too high for the overpass structure and caused “significant damage.”
— with files from Libby Gray, 650 CKOM
Some debris left after a semi-truck hauling equipment crashed into the Highway 11 overpass March 5, 2026. (Patrick Janex/Facebook)
