Saskatoon Freeway

About the Saskatoon Freeway Project

When fully developed, the Saskatoon Freeway will provide a high-speed, free-flow bypass route around Saskatoon, as well as a commuter route for surrounding communities.

Key Benefits

Improve safety
Reduce congestion in and around Saskatoon
Increase efficiency for Saskatchewan producers, shippers and truckers moving goods to market

A functional planning study is currently underway to determine appropriate access points to the freeway, while narrowing down the area of the corridor necessary for future construction. Currently there is no timeline for construction.

More information about the functional planning study is available at www.saskatoonfreeway.org.

Project Overview

While working to develop alignment options, it was important to review the large study area for restrictions, including:

Existing and future developments
Heritage
Environmental and wildlife habitat concerns
Railway lines
Utility corridors
Local geography

Stakeholder and Public Consultation

Stakeholder and public input are critical to the planning process. Face-to-face meetings and public open houses have been held previously to provide information about the project and gather input for the future freeway.

Stakeholder and public engagement involved discussions with a number of key stakeholders including:

Representatives from local municipalities (Cities of Martensville, Warman and Saskatoon, RM of Corman Park)
Saskatoon Trucking Association
First Nations communities
Planning for Growth
Utilities
Railways
Developers
Landowners impacted by the study area

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways & Infrastructure continues a functional planning study with its consultant team of AtkinsRéalis (SNC Lavalin), AECOM and Praxis.

Phase 1 of the functional planning study is complete. View the summary.
Phase 2 of the functional planning study is complete. View the summary.
Phase 3 of the functional planning study is now underway. View the overview.

History

Planning for the Saskatoon Freeway has been ongoing since the mid 2000s.
The location of the north route (Perimeter Highway) was found to be in the ideal location.
As part of the general location study for the South Saskatoon Freeway, two public information sessions were held to gather public input on a number of alignment options.
On June 25, 2015, a number of alignment options were presented for the southeast and west quadrants.
On November 19, 2015, a second public information session was held with the three alignments shown in the southeast and the west, which indicated the southwest zone would no longer be included in the study.
In 2018, the first phase of a functional planning study began to look at land requirements, road connections, intersection controls and narrowing down the corridor size.

General Location

The general location study took place prior to the detailed design phase and is used for future planning.

Functional Planning

The functional planning study builds on the work of the Saskatoon Freeway general location study – completed in 2018 – by gathering additional information such as topographic, drainage, environmental and heritage data. It also considers regional development plans to predict traffic volumes and travel patterns through 2043.

This information is used to determine the centre line of the freeway and conceptual types of interchanges and service roads to get on and off the freeway. The functional planning study will also lead to more precise cost estimates.

Project Engineers

The Ministry of Highways retained Associated Engineering in April 2015 to complete the general location study for the south portion of the Saskatoon Freeway.

Cost

No project costs can be established until future phases of planning.

Saskatoon Freeway Alignment

The ministry has been studying the Saskatoon Freeway since the mid-2000s. The alignment in the southeast was previously studied in 2005.

Land Acquisition

The ministry's intention is to impact the fewest number of individuals/landowners. The approach is to work with the people in the area to reach some common ground in order to proceed with the planning. Ministry land agents meet with landowners on an individual basis and offers are based on the principles of fair and reasonable compensation. A number of processes are in place to work with landowners to reach a mutually acceptable value, including independent appraisals and mediation.

Construction Timelines

No timeline or project cost has been established for additional planning work or construction.

Moving forward

Continue with public engagement for Phase 3 of the functional planning study.
Once the planning is complete, additional time is required to determine a construction strategy, costs and timeline.
While construction will not take place for many years, the initial phases will allow the necessary land to be protected, enabling municipalities, businesses and individuals to make informed decisions about land use as they plan for the future.