The first hospital was constructed in 1899, followed by a maternity home built in 1945 which lasted approximately twelve years. only a single road bridge, the
Diefenbaker Bridge, connects the north and south shore in Prince Albert; this bridge is also the only river crossing connecting southern and northern Saskatchewan in the immediate vicinity (one needs to drive many kilometres to the east or west to find another). This has long been a subject of concern in the region, especially in light of a partial closure of the bridge in August 2011 that occurred when cracks were found during an inspection. Besides these two trails, Prince Albert was also served by the
Montreal Lake–PA,
Green Lake–PA, and
Fort à la Corne–PA trails. Canadian Pacific soon realized the economic uncertainty of the line, and the lease was cancelled after only a few years of service. By 1906, less than twenty years after the line was completed, it was sold to the
Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR). Canadian Northern also crossed the North Saskatchewan River, heading west towards Shellbrook. Prince Albert was slated to become a northern hub for rail service into the north, however with little economic activity in the area, no branch lines were ever extended into the north except for the Paddockwood spur, which was subsequently abandoned during the 1990s as a grain-dependent branch line.
Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP) also serviced Prince Albert through a branch line that headed north from
Young, through St. Louis and North into Prince Albert. Later both the CNoR and GTP were nationalized, eventually becoming the Canadian National Railway (CN).
Canadian National and Canadian Pacific For years the
Canadian Pacific Railway and
Canadian National Railway dominated the city of Prince Albert, operating on both sides of 15th Street. The Canadian Pacific Railway branched off at Lanigan moving north up to Hagen, then under trackage rights with CN, and curved towards the northeast end of Prince Albert. This was CPR's principal northern site, with many of the branch lines feeding back to Prince Albert. These branch lines almost entirely served lumber mills and grain elevators as principal commodities. In 1991 CPR decided to shut down rail line operations in Prince Albert and the surrounding area. CPR sold the Meadow Lake line to CN, and abandoned the Meath Park branch up to
Choiceland. Many small CN branch lines extended past Prince Albert hauling primarily grain, but proved ineffective due to larger and more accessible grain elevators. As a result, many were abandoned through the 1990s. Lines that have been abandoned include the Paddockwood Spur (CN), CPR to Meath Park, CPR to Lanigan, CN to
Shellbrook, and CN to
St. Louis. As grain storage and sorting technology improved over the years, a state of the art Inland elevator was built, located north of Prince Albert. This facility was owned by
Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, later succeeded by Viterra. The smaller elevator located in the CN yards — owned by
United Grain Growers, later acquired by
Agricore United which was also succeeded by Viterra — operated in Prince Albert until Viterra announced its cease of operations on April 1, 2008. Today, only the Inland terminal owned by
Viterra, located in White Star, continues to operate. In December 1997, CN announced the branch line was up for sale due to lack of productivity. The engines primarily used by CN at the time were
GMD1s for short haul and yard shunting, and
EMD SD40-2W/
EMD SD40-2s for long-haul trips. CP utilized switchers due in part to the light rail on many of their branch lines. These switchers were manufactured by Montreal Locomotive Works (Bombardier) and were designated as RS-23.
Carlton Trail Railway OmniTRAX, an American shortline railway company, bought the former
CN line and named it
Carlton Trail Railway (CTRW or CTR). Currently,
Carlton Trail Railway resides in the old CN yard, storing tank cars for CN, transporting grain, and refurbishing diesel engines for other
OmniTRAX lines. Carlton Trail has recently discussed abandoning several parts of the shortline due to increasing costs and poor track condition. The Railroad bridge in Prince Albert had the ability to turn in on itself to allow ferry ships to pass through. In 2001 CTRW announced the abandonment of the Birch Hills branch line, but the city of Prince Albert intervened, citing the possibility of an ethanol plant. In 2008 Carlton Trail announced the Meadow Lake line would be abandoned by April 1, 2009. Carlton Trail primarily operates EMD
GP10s for switching and long-haul transport.
Highways Prince Albert is located on
SK 2,
SK 3,
SK 11,
SK 55, and
SK 302. Prince Albert demarks the change of name for SK 2. The stretch of Highway 2 from
Moose Jaw to Prince Albert was designated in 2005 as Veterans Memorial Highway. The renaming coincided with Veterans Week 2005. of Saskatchewan Highway 2 contribute to the
CanAm Highway between Prince Albert and
La Ronge. The
CanAm highway south of Prince Albert is designated on
SK 3 between
Melfort and Prince Albert.
Transit Prince Albert Transit is the local city bus service. Prince Albert Transit currently provides service only to the south shore portion of the city.
Air transport Glass Field Airport has regular flights to Saskatoon and Regina and serves as an access point to communities and mining operations north of Prince Albert. Many residents of Prince Albert commute to Saskatoon for flights to further destinations. ==Education==