25-680: Circle Drive Bridge spans the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon , Saskatchewan , Canada. It is a steel girder bridge , built in 1983 as part of the Circle Drive freeway system in northeast Saskatoon. At the time of construction, it cost $ 11.8 million to build. Between its opening in 1983 and the opening of the Chief Mistawasis Bridge in 2018, it was the northernmost vehicular river crossing in
50-523: A reference to a former name of the northern east–west leg of Circle Drive dating back to the 1960s; this name was also commonly applied to the bridge in media coverage and city council references to its planning and construction dating back to the early 1960s. For a brief time in the mid-2010s, it was referred to informally as the Circle Drive North Bridge to differentiate it from the formally-named Circle Drive South Bridge constructed at
75-737: Is a provincial recreation site in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan at the confluence of the North Saskatchewan and South Saskatchewan Rivers . The rivers, which have their headwaters in the Rocky Mountains , come together to form the Saskatchewan River . A major intersection when waterways were important to transportation on the Canadian Prairies , first with the fur trade and then during
100-575: Is a major river in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan . The river begins at the confluence of the Bow and Oldman Rivers in southern Alberta and ends at the Saskatchewan River Forks in central Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan River Forks is the confluence of the South and North Saskatchewan Rivers and is the beginning of the Saskatchewan River . For the first half of
125-704: Is heavily wooded with steep banks. There is a tourist picnic site, hiking trails, and historic markers. In 1692, Englishman Henry Kelsey — while working for the Hudson's Bay Company — was the first European to reach the Saskatchewan River Forks. While he didn't set up a trading fort at the Forks, his journey helped open up the prairies for the North American fur trade . Trading posts along rivers were important to European fur traders. In 1751,
150-862: Is in Alberta on the Canadian Forces Base Suffield . Covering an area of 460.71 km (177.88 sq mi), the IBA consists of two sections on the base along the north-western shore of the South Saskatchewan River. The landscape consists of mixed grasslands with intermittent salt lakes and natural springs. Birds found at the site include the burrowing owl , loggerhead shrike , long-billed curlew , ferruginous hawk , McCown's longspur , Brewer's sparrow , upland sandpiper , Baird's sparrow , Sprague's pipit , grasshopper sparrow , western meadowlark , golden eagle , and
175-632: Is in Saskatchewan and follows the course of the South Saskatchewan River from the Alberta / Saskatchewan border east to the Lancer Ferry crossing and includes the river's valley and the fork with the Red Deer River . The site covers an area of 208.6 km (129.6 mi). The valley floor is heavily wooded and includes trees such as the eastern cottonwood , Manitoba maple , peach-leaved willow , and the green ash . Birds found at
200-691: The Qu'Appelle River . By the 1980s many permanent sandbars had formed due to the lowering of the level of the river. From the headwaters of the Bow River, the South Saskatchewan flows for 1,392 kilometres (865 mi). At its mouth at Saskatchewan River Forks , it has an average discharge of 280 cubic metres per second (9,900 cu ft/s) and has a watershed of 146,100 square kilometres (56,400 sq mi), 1,800 of which are in Montana in
225-616: The Rocky Mountains near the British Columbia and Montana border. Glacier and snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains and foothills contributes nearly 90% of the annual flow, with most of that contribution during July and August. The Red Deer River is a major tributary of the South Saskatchewan merging 16 kilometres (10 mi) east of the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. The Lake Diefenbaker reservoir
250-462: The prairie falcon . Besides the aforementioned birds, the habitat is also important for several animals, including the mule deer , pronghone antelope , Ord's kangaroo rat , pygmy short-horned lizard , western hognosed snake , and the prairie rattlesnake . The South Saskatchewan River (Empress to Lancer Ferry) (SK 046) IBA ( 50°56′09″N 109°52′06″W / 50.9359°N 109.8682°W / 50.9359; -109.8682 )
275-409: The riverboat era, today the Saskatchewan River Forks attract tourists, canoeists, and recreational fishermen. The recreation site, which is maintained by the province of Saskatchewan, is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) east of Prince Albert and 33 kilometres (21 mi) north of Weldon . Access is 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) off Highway 302 . The park is on the west side of the river fork and
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#1732797612420300-556: The 20th century, the South Saskatchewan would completely freeze over during winter, creating spectacular ice breaks and dangerous conditions in Saskatoon , Medicine Hat , and elsewhere. At least one bridge in Saskatoon was destroyed by ice carried by the river. The construction of the Gardiner Dam in the 1960s, however, lessened the power of the river by diverting a substantial portion of the South Saskatchewan's natural flow into
325-656: The Red Deer River; the Bassano Dam and 11 other dams divert water on the Bow River and in the Bow River basin; and the Oldman River Dam and Waterton-St. Mary Headworks System manage water flow downstream of the Oldman River. The proposed Meridian dam 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Leader and 95 kilometres (59 mi) north east of Medicine Hat was cancelled due to project costs outweighing
350-572: The Saskatchewan River. For approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) near Saskatoon, the Meewasin Valley Authority is responsible for conservation of the river environment. Numerous lakes in the Saskatoon area were formed by oxbows of the South Saskatchewan River, most notably Moon Lake and Pike Lake . A 2009 report, produced by WWF-Canada which analysed the river flow on ten major Canadian rivers reported that
375-430: The South Saskatchewan River was the most at risk. Climate change , agricultural and urban infrastructure water use, and dams producing hydroelectricity , have all combined to reduce the flow of the South Saskatchewan River by 70 percent. Developers and governments have been cautioned to protect and restore the river with sustainable projects and limit water diversion. Dickson Dam regulates water supply downstream on
400-465: The United States and 144,300 square kilometres (55,700 sq mi) in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The river originates at the confluence of the Bow and Oldman Rivers , north of Grassy Lake, Alberta at the incorporated community of Bow Island, not to be confused with the town of Bow Island, Alberta . The waters of these two rivers, in turn, originate from winter snowpack and rainfall in
425-503: The bridge by filling in the centre gap, it was deemed to be more cost effective to convert the outside pedestrian walkways into driving lanes. In 2006, construction started on adding a third outside lane in both directions to increase capacity and ease congestion during peak traffic times. The lane additions were completed in 2007. A new pedestrian walkway was built below and between the two bridge structures, and opened in July 2007. The walkway
450-416: The city. As with other bridges in the city, locals use several different names for this bridge. During construction there was an unsuccessful campaign to have it named after recently deceased former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker (despite the politician already having a road, a park, a museum and a memorialized street corner named after him). Longtime Saskatonians also refer to it as the 42nd Street Bridge,
475-438: The irrigation benefits. The following are the tributaries of the South Saskatchewan River from its source to its mouth: The following is a list of named islands in the South Saskatchewan River from its source to its mouth: Sections of the riverbank along the South Saskatchewan River are prone to slumping . Since its founding, the city of Saskatoon has dealt with a number of slope failures. Controlling riverbank development
500-475: The opposite end of the city, until the latter bridge was officially renamed the Gordie Howe Bridge . The Circle Drive Bridge is a twin-span bridge; it was designed so that more lanes could be added by filling in the centre. Early published plans for the bridge called for the addition of an observation deck/interpretive centre to the underside of the bridge at that point. However, rather than widening
525-675: The site include the long-billed curlew, piping plover , loggerhead shrike, short-eared owl , ferruginous hawk, red-headed woodpecker , prairie falcon, turkey vulture , golden eagle, great horned owl , western screech owl , pileated woodpecker , western wood pewee , rock wren , alder flycatcher , yellow-breasted chat , and the great blue heron . Fish species include walleye , sauger , yellow perch , northern pike , lake trout , rainbow trout , goldeye , lake whitefish , cisco , lake sturgeon , burbot , quillback , longnose sucker , white sucker , and shorthead redhorse . Saskatchewan River Forks Saskatchewan River Forks
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#1732797612420550-457: The vehicle by kicking out the windshield, standing on top of the car and swimming to a nearby sheet of ice. She then pulled herself onto the ice before being assisted by police and a bystander. As a result of the accident, the city changed its policy regarding snow removal from bridges. The city was sued by Saskatchewan Government Insurance for the cost of the vehicle and its salvage. South Saskatchewan River The South Saskatchewan River
575-472: Was a factor in establishing the Meewasin Valley Authority in 1979. There are four Important Bird Areas (IBA) of Canada along the South Saskatchewan River. Two – Galloway and Miry Bay (SK006) and East Lake Diefenbaker (SK055) – are located at Lake Diefenbaker and the other two are farther upstream along the river's course. Suffield (AB 007) ( 50°27′54″N 110°31′59″W / 50.4651°N 110.5331°W / 50.4651; -110.5331 )
600-619: Was created with the construction of the Gardiner and Qu'Appelle River dams in Saskatchewan . Water from the South Saskatchewan flowing through the dams provides approximately 19 percent of the hydro-electricity generated by SaskPower. Downstream from the dam the river flows north through Saskatoon and joins the North Saskatchewan River east of Prince Albert at the Saskatchewan River Forks — thus forming
625-490: Was dedicated as the Stew Uzelman Pedway on October 31, 2009. The bridge was the scene of a notable accident on 30 December 2013, when Breanna Pegg lost control of her car after hitting ice on the bridge. Her car went over built-up snow along the guard rail, which launched the vehicle up and over the side of the bridge. It crashed onto the frozen river below and started to sink through the broken ice. Pegg escaped
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