Circle Drive

Circle Drive is a major road constructed as a ring road in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The northeastern portion of the road is part of the Yellowhead Highway. It was first conceived in 1913 by the city commissioner and completed exactly 100 years later in 2013.

History

Construction of a ring road in Saskatoon was first proposed in 1913 by city commissioner Christopher J. Yorath. He conceived the first comprehensive town plan, which included inner and outer "encircling boulevards". Parts of the present-day roadway follow the course Yorath laid out, though some route proposals were rejected, such as one for the southern leg that would have taken the roadway over an island south of present-day Saskatoon that, years later, was named in honour of Yorath. It wasn't until the 1950s as the city expanded outward that the present roadway corridor was established. Construction funding, originally estimated at $10 million, was allotted and construction began in 1961.

Rather than the complete route being built at once, Circle Drive was built in sections, as required by traffic conditions and allowed by available funding. As a result, it would take 52 years for the project to be completed.