Regina Construction IV

[The mayor]

Originally Posted by gecho111

Big stockpile of base material at the data centre site. Made a big pile of wet dirt next to the pile of top soil just outside the east side of the site. Still drying out the Grasslands site with fans. Final grade for the next section of Costco parking lot to be paved. They ran the reclaimer at the entrance by the gas station yesterday, and in a wedge close to the building today. Hauling off dirt piles from the NE corner of the site so they can start parking lot work over there.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/reginaconstruction/

Love these photos

[gecho111]

Adding the final layer of pavement to a previous paved part of the Coopertown access. Getting back into road building after the wet few weeks. Starting to add pipes west of the roundabout towards the phase 2 area. I think they are getting ready to put traffic lights at the Rink / Courtney intersection.

Preparing for paving at the Grand Coulee truck stop but probably a week or more work to do first. Paving at the Costco today, and setting up forms for gas station footings.

Coopertown panorama: https://cdn.pannellum.org/2.5/pannellum....r.com/65535/55547453620_129732a447_o.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/reginaconstruction/

[gecho111]

Putting the roof on the Costco entrance and have most of the roof wall cap on. Started assembling the second cattle barn tent. Digging at the aquatic site again, they may have also brought in some clay because if you dig in Regina I don't think you ever hit that light coloured stuff. Down to 1 excavator at the CBS demo.

Paver and roller at the bypass bridge but haven't paved yet. A guy was on a boom lift grinding the wall concrete smooth ahead of painting.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/reginaconstruction/

[gecho111]

Highways posted a pic of the Moose Jaw interchange which had all its cloverleafs removed.

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by gecho111

Highways posted a pic of the Moose Jaw interchange which had all its cloverleafs removed.

I really do not understand traffic engineers' obsession with getting rid of cloverleafs. They have served us well. Theoretically there is a safety issue on exiting and merging in the same area, but I cannot recall accidents in these areas of Regina cloverleafs. They definitely keep traffic flowing and have no left-hand turns.

Here is a splainer that I largely disagree with in the context of Saskatchewan's low volume interchanges.

https://youtu.be/7GTZRSPry70?si=HnxR_Pr8TRWV4yh-

[Stormer]

The U of R has selected Forster to develop its 33 acres community gardens site at Grant Road and Wascana Parkway. Forster likens his plans to the mixed use Acre 21 project.

https://www.uregina.ca/news/2026/university-of-regina-explores-land-development-opportunity.html

[pappcam]

Originally Posted by Stormer

I really do not understand traffic engineers' obsession with getting rid of cloverleafs. They have served us well. Theoretically there is a safety issue on exiting and merging in the same area, but I cannot recall accidents in these areas of Regina cloverleafs. They definitely keep traffic flowing and have no left-hand turns.

Here is a splainer that I largely disagree with in the context of Saskatchewan's low volume interchanges.

https://youtu.be/7GTZRSPry70?si=HnxR_Pr8TRWV4yh-

The only benefit of those cloverleafs is they use much less space. As a driver merging off or on to the main roadway they pretty well — since merging seems to be a big problem with most people from what I see driving around.

[CCF]

Originally Posted by Stormer

The U of R has selected Forster to develop its 33 acres community gardens site at Grant Road and Wascana Parkway. Forster likens his plans to the mixed use Acre 21 project.

https://www.uregina.ca/news/2026/university-of-regina-explores-land-development-opportunity.html

Oof. I have not been impressed with their work. I had hope that the University would do something more innovative here than some strip malls adjacent to some apartment buildings in a landscape of surface parking - time will tell I suppose.

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by CCF

Oof. I have not been impressed with their work. I had hope that the University would do something more innovative here than some strip malls adjacent to some apartment buildings in a landscape of surface parking - time will tell I suppose.

Well at least he gets stuff done and attracts top notch tenants.

[Festivus]

Originally Posted by Stormer

I really do not understand traffic engineers' obsession with getting rid of cloverleafs. They have served us well. Theoretically there is a safety issue on exiting and merging in the same area, but I cannot recall accidents in these areas of Regina cloverleafs. They definitely keep traffic flowing and have no left-hand turns.

Here is a splainer that I largely disagree with in the context of Saskatchewan's low volume interchanges.

https://youtu.be/7GTZRSPry70?si=HnxR_Pr8TRWV4yh-

I've been involved in one accident on the South Albert/Ring Rd cloverleaf (was merging into the off-ramp with right of way, was hit by car merging onto Ring Rd) and have been in at least two other near-hits doing the same thing.

They are major safety issues for a few key reasons:

• If a vehicle has to even slightly brake when merging onto the Ring Rd to allow a vehicle off the Ring Rd, then there is no way they are getting up to 100km/h to merge at a safe speed
• The distance to merge even *without* having to yield is too short for many vehicles

Their only advantage is they take less space. But as someone who uses these every day, they are very unsafe.

[Festivus]

Originally Posted by CCF

Oof. I have not been impressed with their work. I had hope that the University would do something more innovative here than some strip malls adjacent to some apartment buildings in a landscape of surface parking - time will tell I suppose.

Yeah, it's a waste of a good piece of land. But that seems to be most of Regina's history, lol. Should be the city's motto: A Waste of Good Land. Unfortunately, we can't seem to ever actually stick to any plans, and just allow any development at the first sign of interest (and often even then allow for major tax incentives, etc).

The one I fear the most is when the following land is redeveloped. It's prime, park-adjacent space, and close enough to downtown to warrant some mid-rise...but I fear it's going to just be some Deveraux-style lego apartments with massive parking lots:

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by Festivus

Yeah, it's a waste of a good piece of land. But that seems to be most of Regina's history, lol. Should be the city's motto: A Waste of Good Land. Unfortunately, we can't seem to ever actually stick to any plans, and just allow any development at the first sign of interest (and often even then allow for major tax incentives, etc).

The one I fear the most is when the following land is redeveloped. It's prime, park-adjacent space, and close enough to downtown to warrant some mid-rise...but I fear it's going to just be some Deveraux-style lego apartments with massive parking lots:

Yes municipalities have a role in land use planning, primarily through zoning, but they (and citizens) need to be careful not to think the City owns the land. The general underlying rule is that owners get to build what the wish on their own land, provided they meet codes and zoning requirements. Developing land is very expensive, particularly servicing the land. You usually can't just connect to existing infrastructure. You have to pay for upgrades off site as well as within your own land. If you do not allow developers a good return they will not take the risks.

[gecho111]

Yeah that block is crazy low density. This aerial imagery from 2023 with no leaves on the trees / short shadows show it better. Each cluster is probably the equivalent space 4x that of the blood services West Oak project, the south ones even larger. Most years the city map is leafless, but a few of them were a bit late. https://opengis.regina.ca/basicviewer/viewer.html?basemap=2020

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by gecho111

Yeah that block is crazy low density. This aerial imagery from 2023 with no leaves on the trees / short shadows show it better. Each cluster is probably the equivalent space 4x that of the blood services West Oak project, the south ones even larger. Most years the city map is leafless, but a few of them were a bit late. https://opengis.regina.ca/basicviewer/viewer.html?basemap=2020

I have always looked at Gladmer Park as a prime redevelopment opportunity. You have to remember this was low-income housing built in field on the edge of the City in the 1950's. That explains the low density. The buildings were low quality, upgraded in the 1990s, but I can see them being demolished and replaced in phases with much higher density units.

[gecho111]

The south sewage project work for this year started yesterday. Just some preliminary ground work inside the RCMP grounds off of Dewdney. Mostly underground with a few launch / exit locations for microtunnelling / pipe jacking. Should be something like this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFq0_uKyyOw Add extra mud / slurry return pipes with each section of concrete pipe and pump the excavated material out from the launch pit.

Took a few photos at the Huda School on the way to an appointment. 3 excavators with screw pile installers on site still. Starting to lay out some footing walls. Forgot to switch to 2x to get a low shot of the sea of piles, will probaby get some more low shots or a video on the weekend.

[gecho111]

Posts up for Costco gas station canopy. No work at CBS demo since I was last there, overhead shows part of one foundation left to break up. Putting roof on the LTC mechanical penthouse. Something I noticed last time is that each floor has a wide open area on one side of each wing which will probably end up being all window. Not sure anything has happened at the Namerind site in a while. All Nations project seems slow, looks like a lot of infloor heating tube on the main floor. Retail project started by the Cree Land Mini Mart. Getting a closer shot at the Huda school, a lot of the screw piles have been cut to height and capped. One layer of pavement on the bypass bridge, maybe they have to do some grinding at the edge of the milled pavement before putting down the final layer. Just starting to build roads at the Rosewood expansion, the two east / west roads on the north side. The main Coopertown road is getting extended west and has reached the rectangular depression which is probably a large park. Trenching electrical to the transformer locations.

The sun went behind the clouds while I was at the data centre giving me perfect lighting conditions. Doing piling on the end of the first building. Starting to build some permanent roads. I think they are starting to work on the land where the pipeline work had been occuring, so they might close the gap in the berm on that side (area in the video preview). I also took a video. While recording the video I saw something moving fast on the screen which turned out to be another drone, but I was higher up and further away.

Panaorama by SGI building: https://cdn.pannellum.org/2.5/pannellum....r.com/65535/55552798613_79c8e1d7e9_o.jpg

• Video Link • Video Link
• Video Link

https://www.flickr.com/photos/reginaconstruction/

[gecho111]

A transformer and utility boxes in the way of the cattle barn tent. There's an end wall footer being built, but the sidewall footer continues past it, so they might be doing something different for the last bit up to the internation trade building. Last time I was near the old Dutch Growers I didn't think anything was happening, but there has been work on the old building. Painting, new windows and replaced the cedar roofing with regular shingles. Compacting the canopy area at the Costco gas station and work going on in the fuel tank pit.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/reginaconstruction/

[Stormer]

Because the bridge over Highway 11 slopes upwards to the north, the height over the Highway 11 southbound lanes is indicated as 5.2m versus the northbound lanes which are indicated as 6.0m. Uh Oh.

[pappcam]

Originally Posted by Stormer

Because the bridge over Highway 11 slopes upwards to the north, the height over the Highway 11 southbound lanes is indicated as 5.2m versus the northbound lanes which are indicated as 6.0m. Uh Oh.

If they aren't going to change the construction of that bridge that needed that much work after one strike, surely they could put some sort of visual/physical warning system a km or so away from it to warn when something is over the height. I understand that still puts the onus on a driver who actually has a few brain cells, but it's gotta be better than what they have now.

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by pappcam

If they aren't going to change the construction of that bridge that needed that much work after one strike, surely they could put some sort of visual/physical warning system a km or so away from it to warn when something is over the height. I understand that still puts the onus on a driver who actually has a few brain cells, but it's gotta be better than what they have now.

And it's the first overpass coming into Regina. It is always the one that is going to get hit. They could have put some steel reinforcement on the leading edge. Even better if they have a warning system. Right now they just have tiny, one foot square signs. See streetview: https://www.google.com/maps/@50.5504653,..._ep=EgoyMDI2MDkyMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

About a KM back that have that huge digital sign that they never use except to tell you drive safely or that it is slippery, hours after it is no longer slippery. They could put that to good use.