City looks at underpasses as way to relieve railway traffic headaches in Saskatoon

It's a part of Saskatoon traffic life — waiting several minutes for the trains to pass through crossings at major arteries, sometimes in rush hour. But that might change as the city looks at underpasses as a way to unsnarl some of those train delays.

• City of Saskatoon continues to deal with railway delays
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"It's becoming more and more of an issue as the city continues to grow and there's more traffic on the streets as well as rail activity," Angela Gardiner, the director of transportation with the city, said. "The economy is growing as well and there's a lot more trains. So you combine those two together and really what we have is significant congestion at times throughout the day."

The six crossing considered for an underpass are:

• 22nd Street at Avenue F
• Idylwyld Drive at 25th Street
• Central Avenue at Gray Avenue
• Marquis Drive 
• 11th Street at Dundonald Avenue
• Preston Avenue

The crossings are on both Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railway lines. The ones who have made this initial list met three criteria. The first was what impact rail delays have on emergency vehicles. The second is the impact on public transit. The third was the broader economic impact, including the cost of delays in moving people or goods around the city.

The report on railway delays was presented at the Standing Committee on Transportation. The committee received the report as information, but it asked for more information as well.

It wants to know what the traffic projections are for Marquis Drive, and 51st Avenue between Wanuskewin Road and Millar Avenue, after the new commuter parkway bridge opens.

It also wants to know more about the criteria used to pick the six locations considered for underpasses, and a review of what would be involved in relocating the CN freight yards.

The first location to be studied would be 22nd Street, in part because it would be a complex project because there are many businesses on either side of the crossing. 

"When we're looking at how to separate the rail from the traffic we need to figure out how to maintain access to those properties," Gardiner said. She added that the location also has several underground utilities that would have to be worked into the plan. 

The business case for the underpasses also needs to be gathered, Gardiner said, including the cost of the construction versus the cost of delays and the impact on emergency services. 

Each underpass could cost up to $50 million. Gardiner said the city will approach different levels of government to fund the projects. 

​Some of the six locations, specifically 22nd Street and Preston Avenue, are on some of the primary corridors for the city's bus rapid transit (BRT) plan. 

"If you have a significant rail delay, then it obviously impacts the rapidness of your transit.

The city wants to have BRT in place within five to 10 years. It might take up to two years before the city is certain it can proceed with construction of underpasses.