Idylwyld Drive (/ˈaɪdəlwaɪld/ 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.
| Idylwyld Freeway (part) | |
.jpg) | |
| Former name(s) | Avenue A |
|---|---|
| Maintained by | City of Saskatoon |
| Length | 8.46 km (5.26 mi)[1] |
| Location | Saskatoon |
| Coordinates | 52°07′11″N 106°40′08″W / 52.1197°N 106.6690°W |
| South end | Circle Drive S |
| Major junctions | 8th Street 22nd Street Circle Drive N  Highway 16 Highway 11 |
| North end | 71st Street |
| Construction | |
| Inauguration | 1966 |
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.[2] 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.[3][4]
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).
Exits and intersections
editAll exits are unnumbered.
| Location | km[5] | mi | Destinations | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saskatoon | 0.0 | 0.0 | Circle Drive (Hwy 11 / Hwy 16) – Yorkton, Regina | No direct access from eastbound Circle Drive. | |||
| 1.2 | 0.75 |  Lorne Avenue (Highway 219 south) / Ruth Street | Four ramps together form a complete interchange; access via Adelaide Street, St. George Avenue, and Vernon Avenue. | ||||
| 2.1 | 1.3 | Taylor Street | Northbound entrance only. | ||||
| 3.2 | 2.0 | 8th Street / Lorne Avenue | Southbound exit, northbound entrance. | ||||
| 3.9 | 2.4 | Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge over South Saskatchewan River | |||||
| 4.0 | 2.5 | 1st Avenue – City Centre | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||||
| 4.3 | 2.7 | Avenue A to 19th Street | Southbound exit only | ||||
| Freeway ends; becomes arterial road with many at-grade intersections and property entrances. | |||||||
| 4.4 | 2.7 | 20th Street | |||||
| 4.7 | 2.9 |   22nd Street to Highway 7 west / Highway 14 – Rosetown, Biggar | |||||
| 5.0 | 3.1 | Jamieson Street W / 23rd Street E | Former Hwy 5 east | ||||
| 5.2 | 3.2 |  25th Street east to Highway 5 | |||||
| 5.9 | 3.7 | 31st Street | Access to Saskatchewan Polytechnic (formerly SIAST Kelsey Campus) | ||||
| 6.4 | 4.0 | 33rd Street | |||||
| Expressway resumes | |||||||
| 7.9 | 4.9 |  Circle Drive (Hwy 11 / Hwy 16) – Airport | Diamond interchange; south end of Hwy 11 / Hwy 16 concurrency | ||||
| 9.2 | 5.7 | Avenue C south / 51st Street east – Airport | Parclo A4 interchange | ||||
| 10.4 | 6.5 |  Highway 16 (TCH/YH) west – The Battlefords | Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance; north end of Hwy 16 concurrency | ||||
| 12.0 | 7.5 | Marquis Drive | Southbound access to Hwy 16 west | ||||
| 12.8 | 8.0 | 71st Street (Auction Mart Road) | |||||
| Corman Park No. 344 | 13.0 | 8.1 | Highway 11 north – Warman, Prince Albert Highway 12 north – Martensville, Blaine Lake | Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance; north end of Hwy 11 concurrency; continues as Hwy 12 north | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||||
References
edit- ^ Gmaps Pedometer
- ^ "Circle Drive South". Flatiron. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
- ^ Jeff, O'Brien (2005). "Saskatoon Chronology: 1882-2005" (PDF). City of Saskatoon – Archives. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
- ^ "A View From Above – Key to Landmarks". City of Saskatoon – Archives. 2005. Archived from the original on 2007-11-27. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
- ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 18 April 2016.