REGINA -- Mayor Michael Fougere held his annual State of the City address Thursday, and covered a number of topics including the city’s hectic road construction season in 2019.

Multiple road projects were underway at the same time in summer of last year, causing delays and restrictions at some of the city’s major roadways like Victoria Avenue, Lewvan Drive, and Ring Road.

The constant construction was a source of frustration for Regina drivers, as most work took place during the daytime hours.

That’s why the city is looking into options that include work continuing on weekends or overnight in the 2020 construction season.

“That is what the administration said they’re going to try to do, was they evaluate what projects we’re doing if it’s appropriate and we’re not impacting on people’s lives trying to sleep at night,” Fougere told reporters after the State of the City.

Timing isn’t the only lesson the city is taking from last year, as the mayor says a more staggered approach will be rolled out this year.

“We will not do it citywide all at once like we did last year, that was a big mistake,” Fougere said. “We’ll be very strategic in where we go and try to get the work done in a different way.”

Finally, contracts will have clauses with incentives for efficient work.

Fougere also talked about other issues like a flight from the Regina International Airport to an American hub city, how construction permits are handled and the city’s economic state. He told the crowd the Regina economy has always depended on the ability to get products to market.

“We are the largest export per capita in Canada for a province. We are great at exports, but we have inhibitions that are stopping us from doing that,” Fougere said, referring to a lack of pipelines and rail transport problems in recent weeks.

This is Fougere’s eighth State of the City address since being elected mayor.