The Traffic bridge, currently closed as unfit to carry traffic, will see a change in the coming year.

The bridge connects Victoria and 3rd Avenue and carries 7,000 to 10,000 vehicles a day. It also serves as a traffic diverter when the Broadway or Buckwold bridges are shut down.

Ten options were presented at city council Monday for the oldest bridge in Saskatoon, which ranged from demolishing the bridge with no replacement to building a pedestrian and cyclist-only bridge.

The meeting eliminated six options that didn’t allow for foot, bike or motor traffic across.

The options for public discussion include replacing the bridge with a $25 million steel truss bridge or building an architecturally impressive four lane bridge for $60 million. A simple concrete bridge could go in the Traffic bridge’s place.

Refurbishing the current bridge, the oldest in the city, is also an option.

The previous repairs of the bridge lasted all of four years before it was declared too dangerous for use. A refurbishment would likely reveal more problems with the bridge that have not yet been identified.

All of the options are predicted to take two construction seasons to complete.

– –
image: Flickr