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Wanuskewin Road in Saskatoon is closed to traffic for the next three months.
City workers will complete open-cut pipe installation work as part of Saskatoon’s biosolids pipeline corridor project.
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The work includes replacing two underground pipelines connecting the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant to a city-operated biosolids facility in the Rural Municipality of Corman Park.
“During this phase of work, Wanuskewin Road will be closed in both directions at 72nd Street, and there will be no access through the work zone. Drivers travelling between Saskatoon and Highway 11 will not be able to use Wanuskewin Road and will be detoured via Louis Riel Trail (Highway 11) and Idylwyld Drive,” the City of Saskatoon said in a statement.
“Northbound traffic on Wanuskewin Road will be detoured at Marquis Drive, while southbound traffic from Highway 11 will be required to use alternate routes to access the city.”
Russ Munro, director of Saskatoon Water, said the pipes have nearly reached the end of their lifespan and need to be replaced.
Another reason for replacing the pipes now, rather than in 2019 when the road was twinned or a few years down the road, is funding.
“The city was able to attract Investment Canada Infrastructure Program funding. This resulted because this was effectively a pre-designed project we had on the shelf to be ready in case these biosolids pipelines failed at some point in time.
“We’re able to take advantage of federal funding to reduce the overall costs to the citizens of delivering this project. So that led to an acceleration of the timelines,” he said.
While the city may have been able to get a few more years out of the old pipelines, there was also a risk they could fail.
Munro said there was no way to keep even one lane open in each direction while maintaining commuter safety.
Once the new pipelines are installed, Munro said there would likely be very few disruptions for drivers and residents.
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