REGINA - The 2025 construction season is on in Regina, with several projects set to go from now through October.
City officials including Mayor Chad Bachynski were at the kickoff Tuesday at City Hall. Bachynski noted that the construction will focus on much-needed projects touching several areas of Regina.
“This year the City will invest $244 million in transportation, such as roads, bridges, and sidewalks, as well as water, wastewater, and drainage projects,” Bachynski said. “Investing in infrastructure is investing in the foundation of our city. Infrastructure must be maintained to be reliable today, and it must be improved to support growth…
Spending $244 million in our city's infrastructure means it will be another busy construction season, and quite frankly, that's a good thing. Seeing construction underway means we are seeing progress in our city, from maintenance to new projects to expansion of infrastructure, it means important work is getting done during our short season.”
The two biggest projects will once again be the Dewdney Avenue Corridor Revitalization Project, as well as the 11th Ave. revitalization project.
According to Deputy City Manager for City Operations Kurtis Doney, the Dewdney Ave. project is in its final year of construction.
“Once this year finishes, we will have improved underground infrastructure and have transformed Dewdney Avenue from Albert Street to Broad Street into a more aesthetically pleasing and vibrant corridor for the public to enjoy, with improved pedestrian and driver safety.”
Doney also said there will be a similar transformation with the 11th Avenue revitalization.
“Crews are already out working to replace the aging infrastructure, including the underground infrastructure, with work also beginning above ground this year,” Doney said.
“I'm excited to share that come this fall, the streetscape on 11th Avenue will begin to take shape, with an upgraded road, sidewalk, and lighting between Broad and Lorne Street. The work on the remaining parts of 11th Avenue, from Lorne to Albert Street, will take place in 2026, and the major construction will be completed in 2026, with only some landscaping remaining for 2027.”
The Dewdney and 11th Avenue projects are among seven happening this year. Three others already under way include the Albert Street Overpass Upgrade Project, Park Street Upgrade Project, and Water Network Expansion Project.
Doney said the Albert Street North Overpass and Park Street projects “both are about improving vital trucking and commuter routes to support our economy, and will rehabilitate key roadways.”
He said the Albert Street Overpass project involves replacing both overpasses over the next two years, with the southbound being replaced this year and the northbound next year.
The Park Street Upgrade Project will see renewal of the road between Ross and Dewdney Ave., as well as new sidewalks on each side of the street.
Doney also said the Water Network Expansion is nearing completion.
“Crews worked through the entire winter constructing the Red Bear pumping station and the reservoirs. This vital infrastructure should be operational by the end of the year, supporting growth in our city and expanding the water network.”
Two other major projects will launch later this year and more details will be shared closer to that time.
Other priorities for the city in 2025 will be the Residential Road Renewal Program which will address 21 km of residential roads, as well as continuation of the Lead Service Connection Management Program which will remove 220 city owned lewd connections from city records, according to their news release.
How the city is dealing with disruptions
City officials acknowledged that construction season can be frustrating for residents. Bachynski himself ran on a platform to expand the hours of construction to better coordinate projects, and he did report some progress.
“I'm pleased to say that several projects will have expanded construction hours this season, including the Dewdney Avenue and the 11th Avenue revitalization projects, as well as the North Albert Street Bridge project,” Bachynski said.
“This means utilizing weekends and extended daylight hours more efficiently and effectively where we can, and this will lessen the impacts on residents and commuters long-term.”
“Expanded construction hours is one tool in our toolbox to get as much work done as we can in the short construction season,” Doney said.
“We're looking to see different projects, both internally and externally, delivered on that tight timeline. Roughly 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. you should see activity happening on 11th Avenue and some of our residential road network work.”
There will be Monday to Friday work, but also weekend work as well, he said. Doney also pointed to work done already to reduce impacts to local residents.
“The other thing we've done is the Albert Street bridge. That demolition occurred overnight to ensure there was little impact to the ring road,” Doney said.
Another example he pointed to was during the month of February, when “we had our team on the Water Network Expansion working six days, 24 hours straight to do some critical tie-ins. There's lots of work that happens beyond the normal hours of construction.”
Online construction map being launched for residents
The city says there is a new tool being launched this year to help people plan ahead during construction season.
A Planned Construction Map has been launched by the City and can be found at Regina.ca/constructionmap. This will provide the latest information on projects and infrastructure improvements, including expected construction start and end dates.
This is something other cities have, and Doney said this was something the city has had internally over the last few years. But they wanted to provide that information to the public as well and had been working on this for the last year.
“It's an excellent tool that we built in-house. We've got an excellent team working behind the scenes,” Doney said.
“It's just the ability for residents to see what's upcoming in the short term, but also in the entire construction season. You get a sense of the scope of the amount of construction that is required to keep our city moving.”
Mayor Bachynski is excited about having this tool available for the public to use.
“I think it's incredible. Council has had the privilege of getting a sneak peek,” Bachynski said. “I think it's going to be a great transparent tool for residents to see the volume of work that we are accomplishing within the city, but also just the ability to plan ahead.”
The city is keeping an eye on minimizing traffic disruptions as much as possible.
“It's really important to make sure that we plan ahead and ensure any impact on traffic is minimized,” Doney said. “We do lots of planning in advance to make sure projects are planned out and that traffic can flow as easily as possible.”
As for the ongoing issue of potential disruption to businesses located along Dewdney Avenue in the Warehouse District, Doney said the city has an “Open for Business” campaign going “where we're encouraging residents to go down to Dewdney and 11th Avenue to support those businesses.”
Doney said he expects there will be “significant improvements to businesses and the amount of revenue and ability to thrive after these corridors are completed.”
Mayor Bachynski said what he is hearing from businesses is that “people are starting to look forward. They're looking forward to the completion. They're seeing what that vision looks like and they're getting more excited than anything that the work is happening right now.”
