Digging deep: Excavation of ‘anomalies’ in General’s parking lot finds debris

The mystery of the General Hospital’s parking lot has been solved.

A portion of the northwest corner of the visitors’ lot was closed June 8 after so-called “anomalies” were found during site assessments using ground-penetrating radar.

On Friday, the Saskatchewan Health Authority announced an excavation of the area turned up structural debris and old building materials including brick, ceramic, fieldstone, glass and mortar.

“No evidence of historical burials has been found and no further excavation will be required,” the authority said in a media release.

As a result, parking restrictions in the lot are to be removed Saturday. The authority said the areas that were dug up have been filled in and will be topped with gravel.

The area is being considered for a new parkade to address the General’s parking woes, which range from a dwindling number of spots available to the safety of visitors and staff.

In March of 2020, the Saskatchewan government directed the health authority to examine the feasibility of putting a parkade on hospital grounds. Technical assessments of the site in the lot’s northwest corner led to the discovery of the anomalies.