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Twenty years ago, city hall identified a need for two new bridges in Saskatoon.

At that time, the combined cost of the two bridges was estimated at a paltry $130 million with construction on both starting in 15 years.

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The new bridges concept meant abandoning city hall’s plan to add two more lanes to the four-lane Circle Drive North Bridge.

The south span, which we now call the Gordie Howe Bridge, was estimated to cost $70 million with construction to start in six to 10 years. The north bridge, which would be named for Cree Chief Mistawasis, was pegged at $60 million with work beginning in 10 to 15 years.

Former city councillor Myles Heidt complained 20 years ago this month that the timing was not fast enough.

Times change. So do construction costs.

The Gordie Howe Bridge opened in 2013 — not that far off from the original time estimate — at a cost of nearly $300 million, which included connecting roadways.