“The opening of the Regina Bypass is an important
milestone for our province and will greatly improve
the transportation of goods in and out of our
province’s capital city. More importantly, the Regina
Bypass will greatly improve the safety of our roads
and highways for our families and industries.”
– Premier Scott Moe
Highway 1 / Highway 46 Interchange (Balgonie)
The project design has incorporated roundabouts within the project design.
These are used in many parts of the world offering the benefit of higher
intersection capacity, fewer stops, shorter delays and a general increase
in user safety.
At the end of November, the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure
said 5,630 vehicles, including 1,230 trucks, had used the bypass daily.
The ministry anticipates the bypass will reduce fuel consumption by
transport trucks by as much as 300 million litres over the next 30 years, resulting
in a 1.5-per-cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
“We were hearing from truckers who were taking at least a half hour
to get through the city,” said Greg Ottenbreit, Minister of Highways and
Infrastructure. “This bypass will mean a lot to them, not only with efficiency
in transport, but also environmental impacts and the usage of fuel.
It will make a significant difference.”
The construction process was expected to create 8,200 jobs, in addition
to spin-off effects generated by capital spending. In the long term, the bypass
will enhance the productivity of local businesses by providing cheaper
and faster access to major trade routes.
FEATURE
BY THE NUMBERS:
• 17 million cubic metres of dirt were used in bypass
construction, in addition to 26,000 cubic metres of
concrete (2,600 cement trucks) and more than 1,400
kilometres of rebar (Regina to Calgary return)
• 12 overpasses
• 40 km of new four-lane highway
• 20 km of resurfaced four-lane highway
• 55 km of new service roads
• Twinning of approximately five km of Highway 6
PHOTOS COURTESY OF: REGINA BYPASS
thinkbigmagazine.ca | Quarter 1 2020 | Think BIG 23
/thinkbigmagazine.ca
