By TERRY PUGH
Public consultations are currently underway on overpass options for three major roadways along Saskatoon’s western edge, as the third and final phase of a functional planning study for the proposed Saskatoon Freeway nears completion.
A virtual open house on Phase 3 of the Saskatoon Freeway Functional Planning Study is currently underway online (https://phase3saskatoonfreewayvoh.ca/) from November 24, 2025 to December 15. An in-person open house is also scheduled for December 4 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Saskatoon Inn.
After public feedback is collected and incorporated into a more detailed plan, a second public information session is slated for the spring of 2026.
While the freeway itself is at least 15 years away from the start of construction, the current Functional Planning Study is laying the groundwork for the project by determining its location and initial design.
The first two phases of the planing study were completed between 2019 and 2023. The third phase of the planning study includes the 16.5 kilometer-long western section of the freeway, between Highway 16 west and the Highway 7/Highway 60 intersection.
Over the spring and summer of 2025, the Saskatoon Freeway Functional Planning Study team hosted two workshops with key stakeholders from urban and rural municipalities. The discussion focused on the freeway connection with Highway 7 and other accesses located west of Saskatoon.
Information posted recently on the Saskatoon Freeway website illustrates potential designs for Phase 3 overpasses at several key intersections along the freeway route, including Highway 14, Highway 7, Beam Road and Claypool Drive. Illustrations for all intersections can be viewed online at saskatoonfreeway.org.
There are three suggested designs for the Highway 14 overpass, including one option involving a roundabout.
The Highway 7 overpass has three potential designs, two of which include diamond interchanges. All three designs involve changes to access at Hodgson Road.
The freeway intersection at Beam Road likewise has three potential overpass designs. Two of the options include a flyover of Dalmeny Road (with no access to the freeway) as well as a flyover of Auction mart Road. A third option includes a diamond interchange configuration along Dalmeny Road, as well as a flyover of Beam Road and a potential flyover of Auction Mart Road. All the options include various changes to access for roads in the vicinity.
There are two potential diamond interchanges proposed for the intersection of Claypool Drive with the freeway; one of which involves a realignment of Claypool Drive.
The functional planning study is being led by Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Highways, the City of Saskatoon and the Rural Municipality of Corman Park, with support from AtkinsRéalis (formerly SNC Lavalin), AECOM and Praxis Consulting.
According to the Ministry of Highways website, the Saskatoon Freeway is needed in order to accommodate the growth in traffic throughout the Saskatoon region. It is designed to improve safety by diverting highway traffic, particularly larger commercial vehicles, from municipal roads and relieving traffic congestion in the city of Saskatoon.
What is the proposed Saskatoon Freeway, and why is a functional planning study needed?
The Saskatoon Freeway Functional Planning Study began in 2019 and is expected to be complete in 2026. It will identify the preferred route for a four-lane, 55-kilometer freeway around Saskatoon from Highway 11 to Highway 7, including concepts for 17 interchanges, five railway overpasses, several flyovers and one major river crossing.
The Functional Planning Study’s first phase (the area north of Saskatoon) was completed in 2019-2020 and the second phase (northeast and east of Saskatoon) was conducted between 2020 and 2022.
Work on the third phase (the area west and southwest of Saskatoon) began in 2023 and will wrap up next year. Currently, there is no timetable for a final decision regarding the freeway’s construction, but it will be at least 15 years away, according to the Ministry of Highways.
Information gathered during the functional planning study will lead to more precise cost estimates and more accurately identify land required for construction, allowing some temporary land restrictions to be lifted. The current 500-metre-wide corridor in which land development has been restricted can be reduced by approximately 75 per cent when the study is done.
The finalized study will also give people in the RM of Corman Park who live along the corridor a better understanding of where and how their land will be impacted, so they can plan accordingly, according to the Ministry of Highways Saskatoon Freeway website (saskatoonfreeway.org).