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Idylwyld Drive

Freeways in SaskatchewanJctint template hatnote tracking categoryStreets in SaskatoonUrban segments of the Trans-Canada HighwayYellowhead Highway
Day 62 Speed limits (8146488868)
Day 62 Speed limits (8146488868)

Idylwyld Drive ( EYE-del-wild) is an arterial road in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It is one of the main roads in and out of the downtown area of the city. On the south side of the Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge, it is a freeway and was initially designated as the Idylwyld Freeway (since 2013, the southern portion of the road has also been designated as Idylwyld Drive). It merges into Circle Drive at an interchange completed in 2013. At its north end the road divides into two highways, Highway 11 and Highway 12. The oldest section of Idylwyld Drive used to be known as Avenue A, the easternmost of the "lettered" north-south streets. In 1966, the Canadian National Railway tracks were relocated out of the downtown; the former railway bridge was demolished and replaced by a traffic bridge; and the former railroad right-of-way south of the river was made into the Idylwyld Freeway. The freeway crossed the river at the bridge and connected at 20th Street to Avenue A, renamed Idylwyld Drive. Two blocks of Avenue A still exist south of 20th Street, as a small remnant.As with the city's other major transitional arterials, 22nd Street West and 8th Street East, Idylwyld Drive features a mixture of uses. At its southern end, on the border of the Central Business District and Riversdale business areas, commercial uses dominate. North of 25th Street, residential dominates the west side of the street, with a mix of hotels, motels, schools and institutional uses, including the Saskatoon campus of Saskatchewan Polytechnic (formerly called SIAST Kelsey Campus). North of 33rd Street, a mix of single-family residential and commercial is featured until approximately 36th Street, at which point the road becomes a commercial district. North of Circle Drive, the street elevates to freeway status and passes through suburban commercial and industrial regions until it exits the city. Beginning with its intersection with 20th Street and continuing north to the city limits, Idylwyld Drive serves as the dividing line for designating "East" and "West" addresses for the west side of Saskatoon (the remnant of Avenue A serves the same purpose south of 20th).

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Idylwyld Drive (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Idylwyld Drive
Idylwyld Freeway, Saskatoon Nutana

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Wikipedia: Idylwyld DriveContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 52.1197 ° E -106.669 °
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Idylwyld Freeway

Idylwyld Freeway
S7N 0E4 Saskatoon, Nutana
Saskatchewan, Canada
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Day 62 Speed limits (8146488868)
Day 62 Speed limits (8146488868)
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Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge
Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge

The Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge is a bridge that spans the South Saskatchewan River between west and east shore in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It was built in 1966, on the same site as the original Qu'Appelle, Long Lake and Saskatchewan (later CN Rail) bridge. The bridge is part of the Idylwyld Freeway, for which the former CNR Bridge was torn down. The act of dynamiting the original piers of the CNR Bridge became something of a spectacle as demolition experts were unable to completely destroy them. At the time, the new bridge cost $1.5 million to build. Construction of the bridge was one of several simultaneous, interconnected major projects that occurred in Saskatoon during the mid-to-late 1960s. Related projects included: the construction of the Midtown Plaza shopping centre and CN Towers office block which followed the demolition of the former CNR Station and the removal of the attending railyard and CNR Bridge; construction of the Saskatoon Centennial Auditorium (now called TCU Place) also on former railway land; and construction of the Idylwyld Freeway itself from 20th Street southwards to just south of Ruth Street where it joined with another late-1960s freeway project, the south east leg of Circle Drive. Also known by its former name, the Idylwyld Bridge and, by locals, as the Freeway Bridge, the structure was renamed in honor of former mayor and senator Sidney Buckwold in 2001, following Buckwold's death. Buckwold served two non-consecutive terms as mayor between 1958 and 1971, the period of time in which the bridge planning and construction and the nearby inner-city redevelopment took place. When a major rehabilitation project began on the bridge in 2019, crews discovered that approximately 350 tons of pigeon droppings were stuck to the structure. In addition to removing the droppings, the contractor was ordered to trap and humanely euthanize the 1500 pigeons roosting on the bridge. The plan to euthanize the birds drew criticism from wildlife advocates, and the city later stopped the use of 4-Aminopyridine for pest control. The construction project was completed in September 2020; the work done included repairing and resurfacing the bridge deck, and widening the pedestrian walkways.

Saskatoon Arena
Saskatoon Arena

The Saskatoon Arena was an indoor arena located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It opened 30 October 1937 on a site overlooking the South Saskatchewan River. It was a wooden arena constructed in Saskatoon's downtown core. On opening day, it hosted a game between the New York Rangers and New York Americans, and was home to the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League for many years. It was also used for the city's annual Remembrance Day services as well as for major musical performances. Nicknamed "The Barn", the facility had outlived its usefulness by the 1970s and had become infamous for its leaky roof and substandard amenities. Yet Saskatonians were hesitant to lose the landmark and a number of years passed between the first proposal in the 1970s to replace the structure and its eventual closure in the late 1980s. The last hockey game played in the arena took place on February 2, 1988 as Saskatoon beat the Regina Pats 7–2 before 3,308 fans. The next week, the new Saskatchewan Place opened. Saskatoon Arena was demolished in 1989. During the summer of 1989, the Arena site was transformed into an amphitheatre hosting cultural events during the Canada Summer Games. During this time the city was considering a riverbank redevelopment project and it was thought that the Arena site could retain the amphitheatre, but in 1992, city council decided instead to approve construction of Clinkskill Manor, a low income seniors highrise. Plans for riverbank redevelopment continued, however, and were formally revived in the 2000s with the River Landing project. The site is the location of an ironic piece of street naming. For many years a Saunders Avenue provided access to Saskatchewan Place; but after the 2002 death of Bill Hunter, a businessman who attempted to build a new arena in the city, the street was renamed Bill Hunter Avenue (even though Hunter was known to have opposed the location of Saskatchewan Place). The name Saunders was then transferred to Saunders Place, a street that provides access to Clinkskill Manor and runs through the former site of the Saskatoon Arena.