Bridge closure, College Drive construction likely to cause delays for U of S students, staff

The major construction work beginning on the University Bridge and College Drive is “going to be an adjustment” for those going to and from the University of Saskatchewan, according to its student union.

While many students are in their final weeks of study before the summer break, Owen Deis, vice-president of operations and finance for the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union, said students have already been impacted by the closure of the bridge, and will continue to see impacts due to traffic restrictions along College Drive.

Read more:

• Police say drivers crossing closed University Bridge could face tickets
• Saskatoon’s University Bridge closing to all non-emergency vehicles on Monday
• University Bridge closure has Saskatoon business owner concerned

“Luckily, transit can still go down it, for now,” Deis said, “but starting towards the end of this month, a lot of College Drive is going to be inaccessible for students.”

The summer months will bring more restrictions, he noted, prompting concerns about the students, staff and faculty going to and from the university campus. Deis voiced worries about long waits, with campus traffic all being routed from Cumberland Avenue or Preston Avenue towards one university entrance.

“It’s going to be tough,” Deis said.

The student group hasn’t heard about many issues from students directly yet, Deis said, but there are concerns with how the news of the bridge closure and construction work was communicated.

Deis said the work seemed “to just come out of nowhere,” and students have voiced worries over not receiving updates from the city on the construction plans.

He noted that a student union initiative requires some students – depending on their enrollment status, location of their home and other factors – to pay for a transit pass.

“We did bring up to the (City of Saskatoon), though, that with all this construction, it’s going to be a hard sell telling students, ‘You have to go elsewhere. Your bus is going to be detoured,’” Deis said.

“We still do see value in that service, but it’s going to be a little harder to get here.”

He said the student union has received little further information from the city beyond what has been shared with the general public. With transit buses still able to cross University Bridge until June, Deis said students will likely be more directly impacted by the work over the summer months.

“When routes are going to start being detoured from downtown down University Bridge and then up through Cumberland… that’s going to create some problems that I imagine would be a little delayed,” he explained.

Deis said transit’s Route 40 buses likely won’t see much of a delay because there are so many that drive that route. He also foresees little disruption to Route 17. Route 16, however, will look a little different, cutting downtown out of its commute.

“That’s going to cause some delays and, I imagine, disruptions to some students,” he said. Deis noted, however, that student enrolment at the university drops significantly during the spring semester.

He said the city’s planned rapid-transit corridor looks promising, and said he hopes students are able to find ways to get to classes in a timely manner despite the construction.

“It’s going to be a tough two years, assuming everything goes on schedule,” Deis said. “There’s going to be delays. Students are going to have to sometimes get up earlier, take alternate routes.”