Warman, University Heights residents await Chief Mistawasis Bridge opening, shorter commute

People living in Warman and in Saskatoon's University Heights neighbourhood have been monitoring construction progress on the Chief Mistawassis Bridge for months.

Planning and construction began on the bridge in 2015. Now, with its opening at hand, drivers are ready for a shorter commute.

"I hope that the new bridge will be part of the answer for the residents of Willowgrove, Evergreen, and beyond," said Sharon Woods, who uses Attridge Drive daily.

She said Attridge is "poorly designed," and not wide enough for the high volume of traffic supplied by the two neighbourhoods.

'Enhancing opportunities for Warman'

Warman's mayor also sees the bridge as a positive.

"The highway to Warman is one of the busiest highways in the province and this new bridge will filter traffic with more ease," said Warman mayor Sheryl Spence.

"With easier access for residents it will be a safer and more convenient commute for those who work in [Saskatoon]."

Spence said she sees the traffic change as "enhancing opportunities" for her city, because so many Warman residents work in Saskatoon and vice versa.

James Melby is one of the many people who commute to Warman everyday from Saskatoon. It takes him 40 minutes to get from his Evergreen home to work.

On Tuesday, his route will be streamlined.

"I'll be driving out the back of my place and straight to the bridge down McOrmond," he said.

"I think it's going to cut my commute in half."

Congestion worries

Some drivers expressed concerned that traffic congestion will just move to different routes.

"There's a lot of congestion on Attridge and Central, so my concern would be just that it's going to get moved to 51st Street and Wanuskewin," said Osler resident Jessica Reimer.

"It's just going to transfer it to another area of the city."

Currently, Reimer's commute from Osler takes about 25 minutes from her home to where she works on Seventh Avenue.

Some commuters are also perturbed by the 70-kilometre per hour speed limit on the new bridge.

"I think it's a little ridiculous that a city this size with a roadway like this has such slow speeds," said Kurt Huber, also from the University Heights area.

"If we want to be treated like a big city we should act like a big city and have big city roadways."

Environmental advocates have been calling for speed limits to be reduced further on the bridge to protect wildlife from the Northeast swale.