[mersar]

Stoney Trail @ Metis Trail
http://compscience.info/public/images/2008/stoneymetis-sept12-1.jpg

http://compscience.info/public/images/2008/stoneymetis-sept12-2.jpg

[craner]

Man - are they ever flying on that NE portion :tup: How long till they announce proceeding on the SE portion? - I'm guessing over the winter for spring start.:righton:
Thanks for the updates.

[freeweed]

Yeah, and the SW leg will be delayed by another 4 years. :hell:

[craner]

Yeah, and the SW leg will be delayed by another 4 years. :hell:

I sure hope not. But now that you mention it I havn't heard;
"an announcement on a deal is imminant ..." from the province in quite a while. I've stopped even considering this leg as close to reality. I wonder what the timeline is on the stretch from TCH to Glenmore.:shrug:

[mersar]

I sure hope not. But now that you mention it I havn't heard;
"an announcement on a deal is imminant ..." from the province in quite a while. I've stopped even considering this leg as close to reality. I wonder what the timeline is on the stretch from TCH to Glenmore.:shrug:

TCH to Glenmore won't happen until the rest does, as it really would make no difference in the driving patterns with the exception of making the trucks that currently come in on from #1 to #22 and then on #8 to use #1 onto Stoney back to #8, which isn't much change. Though most drivers would probably use it, I've heard that most drivers hate that roundabout they built at #22 and #8.

[korzym]

Yeah, and the SW leg will be delayed by another 4 years. :hell:

makes sense..1 year for every "minor sticking point"?

City urged to start planning for S.W. ring road
Kim Guttormson, Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, September 05, 2008

With the province and the Tsuu T'ina maintaining a deal on the southwest ring road is close, a city alderman believes Calgary should start planning for its role in the long-awaited project.

Ald. Ric McIver will ask his council colleagues Monday to set aside money in the budget to pay for the connections between city roads and the ring road.

"If both sides said they can do a deal and we know money will have to be put aside, why not put a contingency in place?" McIver said.
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However, some of his fellow aldermen said he is jumping the gun, given the province and the Tsuu T'ina have been negotiating off and on for decades.

The province wants to purchase nation land on the city's western edge for the highway.

This year, both sides have said a number of times the agreement just requires finishing touches, with the province saying a deal is imminent. It's still at that point, the province and Tsuu T'ina said Thursday.

"We're literally down to two or three things," said Peter Manywounds, spokesman for the Tsuu T'ina nation. "They're not significant in the sense of the overall deal but significant in terms of the long-term agreement.

"Hopefully they'll get resolved very quickly."

Jerry Belikka, spokesman for Alberta Infrastructure, said there is no mutually agreed upon contract at this point, but "we're getting close to being ready."

Once the two sides agree, the Tsuu T'ina nation members will have an opportunity to vote on the deal. Manywounds said he hopes that vote will happen this fall.

Any deal must also be reviewed and approved by the federal government.

McIver said a report during this fall's civic budget talks could outline the cost of tying Calgary roads into the proposed ring road, and pointed out much of the $3.3 billion the province has given the city for infrastructure over the next decade has already been allocated.

"We don't want to be at one of the major transportation turning points and not be able to act in a prudent fashion," he said.

Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart, whose ward hugs the bottom portion of the proposed roadway, said setting aside money is premature.

"How do you know how much to set aside, what the alignment will be, when they'll start?" she said.

Manywounds believes McIver's motion is appropriate.

"The city has an interest," he said.

City politicians have said in the past that if a deal wasn't reached as of last year, other options would have to be considered as traffic congestion in the city's southwest grows.

kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=13fe084e-13bc-4063-bec9-28f5c84037e8

[mersar]

Fortunately there isn't much that would need to be done thats overly expensive, most of the work would just be extending the existing roads a bit further and in a few cases just upgrading existing roads. No interchanges or bridges that I can think of. Some of the upgrades between TCH and Glenmore may not even need to be fully funded by the city, its possible they may be covered by the developers who are still building those areas (similar to the NE, part of the extension of Metis is the responsibility of the developer who built the northern end of Martindale). Connections south of Glenmore south to at least the other side of Fish Creek would be the city's cost though.

And just a heads up, Deerfoot will be closed at times on the 16th through 18th for girder installation for one of the other offramp bridges according to a advisory the province posted on Thursday.

[craner]

makes sense..1 year for every "minor sticking point"?

Thanks for posting the article korzym - kind of funny that I just mentioned I had not heard this broken record from the province in a while. It does sound encouraging that they really are close this time - we shall see.:apple:

[mersar]

Looks like all the ramps at CHB are paved, and the approaches to the Sarcee Trail bridge as well. They also have unwrapped the signals on CHB that were bagged over the last time I went past. Looked like they may have also put the initial line markers on, though not the final lines.

[freeweed]

CHB looks to be fully open any day now. The second set of lights are cycling to red as of this morning even though there's no actual cross traffic possible, so that ramp should be open this week I'd think. Hitting a red for no reason is a bit annoying but at least it's a sign of progress.

Had a chuckle reading the community newsletter last night. Obviously the info is slightly out of date but on the optimistic side... they claim CHB would see traffic mid-August (about right) and Sarcee would see traffic mid-September (not possible unless something has changed radically in the past 3 days since I've been up there). Also implied was that Stoney would be open between CHB and "points east" by late fall - meaning at least as far as Sarcee, but maybe as far a s Beddington?? That would totally rule but I'm not sure if it's realistic at this point.

Then again, roadwork in Calgary happens throughout the winter months due to our mild winters, so who knows.

The same newsletter claimed Crowfoot station was "on schedule" which is a bunch of horse malarky, so huge grain of salt required. Crowfoot will be delayed a minimum of 4 months from what I can see, maybe longer. It was supposed to open this month, no?

(Sometimes this feels like the mersar and freeweed thread) :haha:

[WeavedWeb]

Fortunately there isn't much that would need to be done thats overly expensive, most of the work would just be extending the existing roads a bit further and in a few cases just upgrading existing roads. No interchanges or bridges that I can think of. Some of the upgrades between TCH and Glenmore may not even need to be fully funded by the city, its possible they may be covered by the developers who are still building those areas (similar to the NE, part of the extension of Metis is the responsibility of the developer who built the northern end of Martindale). Connections south of Glenmore south to at least the other side of Fish Creek would be the city's cost though.

And just a heads up, Deerfoot will be closed at times on the 16th through 18th for girder installation for one of the other offramp bridges according to a advisory the province posted on Thursday.

I think the big projects that they want to set money aside for are interchanges at Glenmore/37th and Sarcee/Richmond (as well as the widening of both Sarcee and Glenmore to 3 or 4 lanes each).

In reality, I think the province should stop squandering money and time away on this project when it will not happen in the near-term. It would be much more productive now to just upgrade Sarcee, Glenmore, 14 St, Anderson, 22X and Macleod (as well as 37 St. from 22x-Anderson). To hell with Providence and to hell with any other communities west of 37 St. Also, they should build those spur LRT lines along 22X and 162 Ave.

[lubicon]

CHB looks to be fully open any day now. The second set of lights are cycling to red as of this morning even though there's no actual cross traffic possible, so that ramp should be open this week I'd think. Hitting a red for no reason is a bit annoying but at least it's a sign of progress.

Had a chuckle reading the community newsletter last night. Obviously the info is slightly out of date but on the optimistic side... they claim CHB would see traffic mid-August (about right) and Sarcee would see traffic mid-September (not possible unless something has changed radically in the past 3 days since I've been up there). Also implied was that Stoney would be open between CHB and "points east" by late fall - meaning at least as far as Sarcee, but maybe as far a s Beddington?? That would totally rule but I'm not sure if it's realistic at this point.

Then again, roadwork in Calgary happens throughout the winter months due to our mild winters, so who knows.

The same newsletter claimed Crowfoot station was "on schedule" which is a bunch of horse malarky, so huge grain of salt required. Crowfoot will be delayed a minimum of 4 months from what I can see, maybe longer. It was supposed to open this month, no?

(Sometimes this feels like the mersar and freeweed thread) :haha:


Hey, I do what I can. Speaking of that, Scenic Acres Link has been excavated pretty much down to what I presume is it's new level. They have gravelled (and maybe oiled??) the detour portion of Stoney Trail to the north and are still working on the south part of the detour.

[mersar]

Had a chuckle reading the community newsletter last night. Obviously the info is slightly out of date but on the optimistic side... they claim CHB would see traffic mid-August (about right) and Sarcee would see traffic mid-September (not possible unless something has changed radically in the past 3 days since I've been up there). Also implied was that Stoney would be open between CHB and "points east" by late fall - meaning at least as far as Sarcee, but maybe as far a s Beddington?? That would totally rule but I'm not sure if it's realistic at this point.

Well it looked like they had paved the approaches to Sarcee, and I believe its opening plan is to run all traffic on the NB lanes (hence the crossover on the north side of the bridge were the roadway is twinned), then build the SB lanes since the south side of the bridge requires building up the roadway over the current detour route. So a September opening is quite possible, albeit it won't be the final. Last I was up at Beddington they had started what looked like a similar process, the NB lanes were gravelled and had curbs in, but the SB didn't. So they may do the same up there. Which could allow for them to open at least that far (I'd think it may be possible as far as Panorama actually) as really all they'd need to do on the main road itself is pave over where the current detour roads are, and pave up to the intersection at Panorama which will be a controlled intersection anyways.

[Cowtown_Tim]

Hopefully someone from this thread can answer this. When the ring road is completed, are trucks on HWY 1 going to be forced to use the ring road?

[lubicon]

Hopefully someone from this thread can answer this. When the ring road is completed, are trucks on HWY 1 going to be forced to use the ring road?

No.

[mersar]

No.

At most I'd imagine we may see a 'Truck Bypass Route - use Highway 201' type sign put in place on either side of the city. Theres no really effective way to prevent using 16th ave, especially since there will still be trucks actually coming into the city as a destination.

[You Need A Thneed]

They won't be forced, but there will be no reason for them not to.

[freeweed]

At most I'd imagine we may see a 'Truck Bypass Route - use Highway 201' type sign put in place on either side of the city. Theres no really effective way to prevent using 16th ave, especially since there will still be trucks actually coming into the city as a destination.

They could put a "no trucks allowed" sign and ticket people who don't follow it, like CHB has during certain hours. However, they obviously won't for exactly the reason you list.

[reflexzero]

Trucks only lanes on Barlow and.. uhh what could they possibly do on 16th at this point.. Elevated freeway on 16th would fix the trucks problem, and all my problems.

But it's taken 7 years to not finish 16th ave.. so..

..back from Dreamland. Closing Barlow to the Airport will likely shift some truck traffic to Stoney Trail.

[MalcolmTucker]

I think the big projects that they want to set money aside for are interchanges at Glenmore/37th and Sarcee/Richmond (as well as the widening of both Sarcee and Glenmore to 3 or 4 lanes each).

In reality, I think the province should stop squandering money and time away on this project when it will not happen in the near-term. It would be much more productive now to just upgrade Sarcee, Glenmore, 14 St, Anderson, 22X and Macleod (as well as 37 St. from 22x-Anderson). To hell with Providence and to hell with any other communities west of 37 St. Also, they should build those spur LRT lines along 22X and 162 Ave.

Sarcee and Richmond is included in the scope of the SWRR, and is not part of the cities role. With it being so close to the future mega interchange of Glenmore, Stoney, Sarcee, Highway 8, it is easier to design it in as a unit of that interchange rather than attempt to integrate whatever the city designs later.

The SWRR is being designed to handle 16 lanes, from 101st St and Highway 8 till 37th St SW and 22x. There is no other corridor that can handle such a path.

[mersar]

Sarcee/Richmond doesn't appear on the most recent maps from the province for that part, though they are a few years old. From what they show any ramps and such are ended by about 1/2 along the city yard (south of the commercial area). I'd imagine that it would be paid for by the city even if the design is coordinated by the province, similar to what they are supposed to be doing at Blackfoot when they redo the Glenmore interchange. Fortuantely any interchange built there likely wouldn't be too hard to construct (I'd imagine Sarcee running over Richmond, and built down the middle of where the median currently is would be the simplest design, though that would require relocation of the power lines that current run through there most likely)

[MalcolmTucker]

Sarcee/Richmond doesn't appear on the most recent maps from the province for that part, though they are a few years old. From what they show any ramps and such are ended by about 1/2 along the city yard (south of the commercial area). I'd imagine that it would be paid for by the city even if the design is coordinated by the province, similar to what they are supposed to be doing at Blackfoot when they redo the Glenmore interchange. Fortuantely any interchange built there likely wouldn't be too hard to construct (I'd imagine Sarcee running over Richmond, and built down the middle of where the median currently is would be the simplest design, though that would require relocation of the power lines that current run through there most likely)

Was most definitely listed and described as a provincially built interchange at the open house I went to a few months back. Along with that, and the switches of 17th and Old Banff Coach Road from flyovers to partial interchanges, and a new road going through the city work yard connecting the west side of west hills to the ring road were the extent of the changes from the old plans.

[kap384]

Stoney north @ CHB ramps open today with signage uncovered and lines painted. Reroute under bridge out of service. This one's almost ready to go:tup:

[mersar]

Well if the final routing is open we can put that interchange in the completed column :) Means I'll have to go take a drive up there tomorrow and get the new ramps all mapped and put into OSM.

[freeweed]

Stoney north @ CHB ramps open today with signage uncovered and lines painted. Reroute under bridge out of service. This one's almost ready to go:tup:

Damnit, for a brief few weeks I didn't have to hit a light there. :hell: :haha:

[lubicon]

Further to my comments regarding the Scenic Acres/Tuscany interchange. They were paving the detour portion of Stoney from Scenic Acres Link north towards Crowchild. There is still some more excavation to be done by the looks of it to get Scenic Acres Link down to it's final level. They are still working on the detour portion of Stoney as you approach S.A.L. from the south. They were putting up light poles on this section yeterday, but none have been installed on the portion they are paving.

Kind of odd the the work appears to be going on in a bit of a haphazard fashion. You would think the light poles would all go up more or less together, and the paving would be done all at once, but I suppose they have their reasons.

Good news about the CHB interchange (even if it does eliminate our brief time with no lights as Freeweed mentioned). One step closer to opening Stoney as far as Beddington by this fall.

I found some of the construction comments Freeweed was referring to, but the PDF's are all locked and I couldn't copy the text to paste them. Go to http://www.suburbanjournals.ca/#view and look at the September newsletters for just about any NW community and you will find the same construction update in all of them.

[SubwayRev]

Was most definitely listed and described as a provincially built interchange at the open house I went to a few months back. Along with that, and the switches of 17th and Old Banff Coach Road from flyovers to partial interchanges, and a new road going through the city work yard connecting the west side of west hills to the ring road were the extent of the changes from the old plans.

This part has always been on the plans. I moved into Richmond Hill in 1995, and that was part of the plan then. Although...I haven't ever heard mention of it since then.

As for this portion of the ring road, wouldn't expanding Sarcee Trail lessen the need for 16 lanes on the actual ring road. Plus, Sarcee Trail could be done for a lot cheaper and a lot faster.

[mersar]

The 16 lanes is just in terms of how much land is acquired, I would doubt its more then 8 when its first built. And Sarcee can be expanded only to a certain amount, any expansion on the hill itself down to 16th is pretty limited and not really that great an option. Plus its a virtual dead end at that point.

Took a spin up to 112th Ave NW today, the bridge over Stoney at Sarcee is nearly there. The guard rails are all in, and the road on either side of the bridge has its centre line painted now. Theres still some construction stuff left on the bridge deck though, so thats probably waiting on some final work there but it likely won't be long before its open. It also looked like they've got the lines painted on Stoney itself from CHB to Sarcee. They were pouring at Crowchild this morning, they actually had 2 concrete trucks parked on the bridge so the one end is obviously finished up.

[MalcolmTucker]

The 16 lanes is just in terms of how much land is acquired, I would doubt its more then 8 when its first built. And Sarcee can be expanded only to a certain amount, any expansion on the hill itself down to 16th is pretty limited and not really that great an option. Plus its a virtual dead end at that point.

Took a spin up to 112th Ave NW today, the bridge over Stoney at Sarcee is nearly there. The guard rails are all in, and the road on either side of the bridge has its centre line painted now. Theres still some construction stuff left on the bridge deck though, so thats probably waiting on some final work there but it likely won't be long before its open. It also looked like they've got the lines painted on Stoney itself from CHB to Sarcee. They were pouring at Crowchild this morning, they actually had 2 concrete trucks parked on the bridge so the one end is obviously finished up.

Yeah, the 16 lanes isn't until 2040, when the outer ring road is projected. But it does mean that all the bridges on that section, that cross the road get to be surpersized to span an eventual 16 lanes. Should be cool.

I was up at the landfill a couple days ago, and it would have been very nice to have everything done. There is a big atheletic park in an old gravel pit that has to be in one of the more interesting places in the city. The Scenic Acre link work is much more extensive than I thought was needed, but in that is still throughly awesome.

What is the staging plan for the section over the Bow, is a second bridge being built when the section running south of 16th West opens, or can we look forward to that sooner?

[mersar]

I haven't seen anything on the second Bow bridge yet, I'd expect that once they release the plans for the Nosehill interchange that will probably need to be accounted for in the design. Whether it needs to be built then or it can wait until after is probably an open question.

[freeweed]

I found some of the construction comments Freeweed was referring to, but the PDF's are all locked and I couldn't copy the text to paste them.

Ah, you poor schlubs stuck with Windows and its typically crippled software. ;)

Construction is underway throughout the Project, with a portion of the new roadway from Country Hills Boulevard to the east currently estimated for completion and opening to traffic in late fall 2008. The roadway will not be open to Deerfoot Trail until fall 2009. The bridges for the Beddington Trail interchange (South Rock Ltd./AECON) are currently being constructed, with Beddington Trail traffic scheduled to be going over the new bridge by the end of August 2008. The Shaganappi Trail flyover and connecting roadways are now open to traffic. In addition to the flyover, there will now be two ramps constructed adjacent to the westbound lanes of Stoney Trail. This will allow for access to Shaganappi Trail North from the westbound lanes of Stoney Trail and allow for southbound Shaganappi Trail to access Stoney Trail West for the areas north of Stoney Trail. The remaining interchange ramps are not scheduled for construction at this time. Construction is ongoing at the Country Hills Boulevard and Sarcee Trail interchanges, with traffic scheduled to be going over the Country Hills Boulevard bridge by mid-August 2008 and over the Sarcee Trail bridge by mid-September 2008. The contract for final surfacing and other work (South Rock Ltd.) has been underway since last summer.

This contract is for the 15-km section of Stoney Trail from Country Hills Boulevard to the CP Rail crossing (west of Highway 2). We anticipate that a section of the project will be open for traffic by late fall 2008. Construction of the Crowchild Trail/Stoney Trail interchange will continue throughout 2008. The City of Calgary's decision to extend the northwest LRT line to Rocky Ridge Road will impact the design and completion of this interchange. As a result, construction of the Stoney Trail/Scenic Acres Link/Tuscany Boulevard interchange was advanced. Construction of this interchange commenced in July, with completion of both interchanges scheduled for fall 2009. At this time, the Transportation and Utility Corridor (TUC) is a very busy construction zone with many hazards. Please advise all household members, including children, that the entire construction zone is not a recreational area and should be avoided at all times.

Mind you, I didn't even realize they posted this stuff online. :D

Interesting, there's an implication that Crowchild/Stoney will be completed next year. I didn't think this would be possible considering the extra work now required because of the LRT. At least 2 major ramp additions, at the very least. Considering where it is right now, I'd be amazed if they could even open it next year, let alone have those new ramps added.

[mersar]

The two ramps are possible in my mind to have done by then, since one is below the previous level of Crowchild (meaning really theres only excavation, and no centre pier), and the other already has 1/2 of its earth work completed. And both are only two lanes wide, compared to the 4-6 lanes for every other bridge they've built in the NW in this spurt.

[craner]

:previous:
Does this mean the Stoney-Crowchild interchange will have no lights on either road ? :fingerscrossed: :banana:
(I still can't believe they would build a new interchange along Crowchild and consider putting lights on it :koko:).

[craner]

Yeah, the 16 lanes isn't until 2040, when the outer ring road is projected. But it does mean that all the bridges on that section, that cross the road get to be surpersized to span an eventual 16 lanes. Should be cool.

:previous: Or will they simply twin the bridges when needed (a-la Bow River) ?

[mersar]

:previous:
Does this mean the Stoney-Crowchild interchange will have no lights on either road ? :fingerscrossed: :banana:
(I still can't believe they would build a new interchange along Crowchild and consider putting lights on it :koko:).

Yep, once its done there will be no lights from 24th Ave all the way to 12 Mile Coulee, and those ones will be replaced by an interchange within a decade or so I'm predicting.

I'm still trying to figure out what they are doing at that intersection at 12 Mile currently, they've just about fully excavated out the hill on the other side of the power pole on the south side of Crowchild and staked it out (possibly to re-route the one driveway that currently connects right at the intersection pretty much? a bit excessive, but possible). The dual turn lanes and twinning of the road south to the first access into Tuscany though will be a nice improvement there however, and hopefully enough to appease the people concerned about the traffic there with the Rocky Ridge closure coming up.

[Innersoul1]

I haven't seen anything on the second Bow bridge yet, I'd expect that once they release the plans for the Nosehill interchange that will probably need to be accounted for in the design. Whether it needs to be built then or it can wait until after is probably an open question.

Yeah I always wonder when I drive over the Stoney Bridge what will happen. They obviously graded the section for the second bridge when they built the first one. But given the cost and technical expertise needed to build the first one, the second bridge would be a pricey option.

[craner]

Yep, once its done there will be no lights from 24th Ave all the way to 12 Mile Coulee, and those ones will be replaced by an interchange within a decade or so I'm predicting.

And hopefully within that same decade all the lights from 24th Ave through Memorial Drive on Crowchild will be history as well. :)

[You Need A Thneed]

When I drove along Beddington Trail by Stoney Trail on Friday, it appeared that some paving had been done on both sides of Beddington. There was literally hundreds of gravel trucks coming south along Beddington towards Country Hills, so I'm assuming that they were related to the paving operation.

I can see why people in Evanston were so ticked off with the one exit thing there a month ago. The engineer's place I went to up there, he said that it took some people an hour to get out of their community. All of that construction, plus having to go through four sets of lights serving the big box stores north of Stoney.

[lubicon]

Update on the NE portion


Construction Update
Northeast Stoney Trail Ring Road
September 2008

As part of the construction of the Northeast Stoney Trail ring road, we have 23 bridges to build. Bridges are basically built in three major stages: substructure, girders and superstructure. The substructure is the foundation of the bridge. A girder is a beam used as a main support in the bridge structure. The superstructure consists of the components above the girders, including bridge deck and railing. The deck is the roadway portion of the bridge, including the shoulders.
Stoney Trail Constructors has commenced construction on 21 out of 23 bridges. We have completed the substructure on 12 bridges, and 9 bridges now have concrete girders and one has steel with a second steel bridge in progress. Our construction crews have also started the superstructure on 10 bridges. In summary, we are 50 per cent complete on girder erection and 55 per cent on substructures, and all foundation work is now complete.
On specific interchanges, the following has been achieved:
 STC has poured the McKnight Boulevard NE overpass. Paving at this location will start the week of September 8 and the tentative opening date is September 15.
 We have poured two out of 12 bridge decks at the 16 Avenue NE interchange, another four will be poured shortly.
 STC will also pour the deck for the Country Hills Boulevard NE overpass in September.
By the end of this year’s paving season, STC should have the ring road paved from 16 Avenue NE to just past Country Hills Blvd.
We know that during the construction phase, there are inconveniences to Calgarians. We try to be as respectful as possible and to respond to public inquiries as best we can. There will be noise and dust at the construction site; however, we try and minimize the effects on local residents as much as possible. We hope that the completion of the ring road and the resulting alleviation of traffic congestion in northeast Calgary will be a big benefit to all when we have completed the Northeast Stoney Trail in the fall of 2009.

[mersar]

Sarcee Trail bridge over Stoney is now open, and they've already ripped out most of the detour road and are starting to build up the ramps on that side. Paving Country Hills Boulevard as well today just west of Stoney. Was chatting with a worker while waiting for the flag person to let traffic through, supposedly they are aiming for Oct 30th opening from Country Hills to Harvest Hills.

The Beddington @ Country Hills interchange is almost there as well, most of the ramps are paved and looked like the bridge deck was done, just no railings on it yet, so it could possibly be ready the same time as Stoney opens.

[freeweed]

:previous: About time. It's been over a month that CHB @ Stoney has been left with a very unacceptable bump in the road heading east. Every day some poor schmuck bottoms out their car there.

The whole project is rapidly resembling a cluster fuck. We get a nice long Indian summer, perfect for road work, and they're doing hardly anything. Now that it's getting cold/rainy/foggy, work resumes.

[bpakish]

I read in my community newsletter that the Crowfoot cTrain station will now be opened in early 2009 instead of late 2008. Big surprise there!!

[lubicon]

:previous: About time. It's been over a month that CHB @ Stoney has been left with a very unacceptable bump in the road heading east. Every day some poor schmuck bottoms out their car there.

The whole project is rapidly resembling a cluster fuck. We get a nice long Indian summer, perfect for road work, and they're doing hardly anything. Now that it's getting cold/rainy/foggy, work resumes.

At least construction of the detour for the new Scenic Acres/Tuscany interchange is progressing rapidly. I would say they are well on track to have it open in the 2 month timeframe that was indicated at the start of the project, which would also be around the end of October.

[freeweed]

At least construction of the detour for the new Scenic Acres/Tuscany interchange is progressing rapidly. I would say they are well on track to have it open in the 2 month timeframe that was indicated at the start of the project, which would also be around the end of October.

Yeah, but I'm still grumpy that that interchange is just being STARTED when it looks like the NW Ring Road will be mostly done this month - at least past Beddington, which makes it very useful. (crossing fingers, anyway). Don't even get me going on the fact that Nose Hill is still going to have lights for 3, 4, maybe 5 years at this pace.

I wonder if the road is going to be somewhat reduced speed for a few years, to avoid having a 100 to 50km/h slowdown while going downhill? I can't remember what the city/province did on Deerfoot when the Douglasdale, etc interchanges were going up.

[lubicon]

Yeah, but I'm still grumpy that that interchange is just being STARTED when it looks like the NW Ring Road will be mostly done this month - at least past Beddington, which makes it very useful. (crossing fingers, anyway). Don't even get me going on the fact that Nose Hill is still going to have lights for 3, 4, maybe 5 years at this pace.

No arguement from me on that one, I am in complete agreement. Trouble is, with the Crowchild interchange now slated for 2010 completion, and Nosehill Drive not even announced (although I expect that to come soon) they can spin the story and say everything is 'on schedule' and will be complete by 2010. I've lived in Tuscany for 11 years and Stoney Trail AND Crowchild Trail have been under construction of some form for the ENTIRE time I have lived here. 11 years of construction (13 by the time they are done) is a little excessive if you ask me. I realize it has bot been one continuous project, but the overall effect is still the same to those of us who use the road.

[korzym]

A co-worker has a brother in law that was working on the NW portion, according to him the major thing thats holding things up is the concrete contractor. I'm not sure on the details, but I imagine the deerfoot interchange has something to do with it + complications of the NE portions of that interchange started a bit later on.

[freeweed]

6 week old pics of the NE Ring Road, taken from a 737. Amazing how much progress has been made since then.

Deerfoot interchange - they were just starting with the ramps then; by now at least 2 of the overpasses are done. Folks who drive through the area know just how many closures etc we've seen this summer:

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/8295/img1296ks2.jpg



Calgary's new "big bend" - great to know this road is being engineered for speed. I also love all the "interchanges to nowhere" at this stage of construction:

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/1559/img1298ax1.jpg



Lastly, Chestermere - which has doubled or tripled in size in just the past 5 years. An example of the worst kind of unsustainable suburban (ex-urban?) development, although from talking with friends I'd say Strathmore is going to be a much bigger problem when gas hits $2/L next summer:

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/576/img1301wp6.jpg

[Skeletor]

I'll throw in a few more old ones... from July. 13:

All pics by me. Click pictures for BIGGER version!

Skyview Ranch????
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3289/2942442895_a8e52c390a.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3289/2942442895_a8e52c390a_b.jpg)

Metis Trail
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3201/2942443457_814025bc1e.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3201/2942443457_814025bc1e_b.jpg)

"The Corner" and Country Hills Blvd.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3155/2942444109_b3e798126c.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3155/2942444109_b3e798126c_b.jpg)

Country Hills Blvd., Airport Tr., and McKnight Blvd. in the distance
(plus free advertising for WestJet)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3200/2942444671_26a4f96498.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3200/2942444671_26a4f96498_b.jpg)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3274/2943304938_43186a42b4.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3274/2943304938_43186a42b4_b.jpg)

Airport Tr. with the far away downtown core
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3005/2943305658_46372476da.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3005/2943305658_46372476da_b.jpg)

From further east
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3231/2943306268_77081d696a.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3231/2943306268_77081d696a_b.jpg)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3272/2942447249_aeeeca2540.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3272/2942447249_aeeeca2540_b.jpg)

[You Need A Thneed]

Mostly related update from Ward 3 Office:

Airport Trail Extension West to Harvest Hills Boulevard

Airport Trail is to be extended west to Harvest Hills Boulevard. Our Engineers are working on the final design and expect that construction will commence in the spring or summer of 2009. Work is on-going to get permission from Canadian Pacific Railways to put a bridge over their rail lines and to get permission from Alberta Environment to put a bridge over Nose Creek.

The Transportation Department is also working on plans to construct two lanes of Airport Trail from the east freeway to Metis Trail. This is targeted for opening in the fall of 2009 to coincide with Metis Trail being constructed from 80th Avenue north to Stoney Trail.

[mersar]

Good to hear. I know that STG had scheduled construction of the Airport Trail flyover (with the same configuration as the Beddington/Deerfoot one) to be one of the last parts of the NE project to be completed, so at least it won't be completed and left unused for too long.

[freeweed]

Mostly related update from Ward 3 Office:

Airport Trail Extension West to Harvest Hills Boulevard

Airport Trail is to be extended west to Harvest Hills Boulevard. Our Engineers are working on the final design and expect that construction will commence in the spring or summer of 2009. Work is on-going to get permission from Canadian Pacific Railways to put a bridge over their rail lines and to get permission from Alberta Environment to put a bridge over Nose Creek.

The Transportation Department is also working on plans to construct two lanes of Airport Trail from the east freeway to Metis Trail. This is targeted for opening in the fall of 2009 to coincide with Metis Trail being constructed from 80th Avenue north to Stoney Trail.

Not sure our priorities are correct here. No word on the tunnel, but by golly we're gonna make sure folks living in Harvest Hills save 2 minutes by avoiding CHB!

The east side I understand, but again - without a tunnel, what good would it be really?

If we don't have the money for that tunnel, we sure as heck don't have the money for these.

[ExcaliburKid]

Calgary's new "big bend" - great to know this road is being engineered for speed. I also love all the "interchanges to nowhere" at this stage of construction:

You'll be loving them even more when you dont have the shit-show that is AHD in Edmonton from Yellowhead Tr. to Windermere.

[You Need A Thneed]

Not sure our priorities are correct here. No word on the tunnel, but by golly we're gonna make sure folks living in Harvest Hills save 2 minutes by avoiding CHB!

The east side I understand, but again - without a tunnel, what good would it be really?

If we don't have the money for that tunnel, we sure as heck don't have the money for these.

Jim Stevenson's been working hard trying to round up funding for the tunnel as well, no real news to report, other than Stevenson's talking to any MLA/MP that has any responsiblity even remotely related. He's got signs up in the community directing them to his website, where they are guided to write to the same MLAs and MPs. At $100M, I'm fairly certain that the tunnel wll go through, the cost of not doing it would be much greater than that.

The 96th Ave link to Deerfoot Trail will save a lot more than 2 minutes for people in Harvest Hills. It will reduce the traffic on CHB, and Beddington Trail, which are congested, and add traffic to a very underused existing interchange.

Plus, it will be possible to have a reasonable bus route from north central Calgary to the airport. Currently, Airport Trail just connects to Deerfoot to the East leg, and Beddington connects just to the west leg, and you can't drive on one, and take a quick leg of Deerfoot to get on the other.

[freeweed]

You'll be loving them even more when you dont have the shit-show that is AHD in Edmonton from Yellowhead Tr. to Windermere.

Yeah, I've been on AHD a few times over the various phases of construction, and I felt sorry for our northern neighbours. Not sure what the final plan is but it really seemed stupid at the time.

[freeweed]

Jim Stevenson's been working hard trying to round up funding for the tunnel as well, no real news to report, other than Stevenson's talking to any MLA/MP that has any responsiblity even remotely related. He's got signs up in the community directing them to his website, where they are guided to write to the same MLAs and MPs. At $100M, I'm fairly certain that the tunnel wll go through, the cost of not doing it would be much greater than that.

The 96th Ave link to Deerfoot Trail will save a lot more than 2 minutes for people in Harvest Hills. It will reduce the traffic on CHB, and Beddington Trail, which are congested, and add traffic to a very underused existing interchange.

Plus, it will be possible to have a reasonable bus route from north central Calgary to the airport. Currently, Airport Trail just connects to Deerfoot to the East leg, and Beddington connects just to the west leg, and you can't drive on one, and take a quick leg of Deerfoot to get on the other.

Oh, don't get me wrong - I think both pieces are an important part of our overall infrastructure (like you said, a very underused interchange, for one). I just find it unbelievable that they're funded and scheduled, and the tunnel is still officially not a go. I agree, it will probably happen, but it does show a distinct inability to prioritize in this city.

[You Need A Thneed]

An update again from Jim Stevenson: I think I only summed it up before, because the link wasn't work to get the actual text.­2008 OCTOBER - A MESSAGE FROM WARD 3 ALDERMAN JIM STEVENSON



ONGOING ROAD CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES/PROJECTS



- Stoney Trail Construction and Scheduled Opening



Things are currently on schedule for opening Stoney Trail from Country Hills Boulevard to Harvest Hills Boulevard later this fall.



- Country Hills Boulevard/Beddington Trail Interchange



The project is on time for completion in the summer of 2009, with a partial opening later this fall. The partial opening will include the overpass structure and the ramps and loop on the East side. The pedestrian bridge west of the interchange will be completed in January 2009.



- The SBC Project (Shaganappi Trail/Beddington Trail/Country Hills Boulevard)



Sound walls on Country Hills Boulevard (14th Street to Beddington Trail) and Beddington Trail (North of Hidden Valley Gate to North of Harvest Hills Boulevard) are scheduled for completion in September, 2009. A Public Open House for sound attenuation is tentatively scheduled for early November – watch the website or call my office for the date and location. Landscaping plans and intersection improvements for 14th Street and Country Hills Boulevard will also be presented at this Open House.



- Westward Extension - Airport Trail / 96th Avenue



The 96th Avenue NE Extension, from Harvest Hills Boulevard to Deerfoot Trail is in the preliminary design phase. Land requirements have been quantified and land owners have been approached to start the acquisition process. The utility relocation portion of the project will occur from October 20 to December 12. Contingent on acquisition of the land required, plans are to start road and bridge construction sometime during the Spring/Summer of 2009.



The City will also design and build the Deerfoot Interchange Upgrade on behalf of the Province. Preliminary design of this portion of the project is underway.



TRAFFIC CONGESTION - RECENT EVENTS ON 128TH AVENUE & THE CITY’S PLANS____________________________________________________________



September 2nd saw early morning traffic at a literal stand-still for residents leaving Evanston. Notified by area residents and Community Association representatives, the Ward 3 Office worked with the Transportation Department and Calgary Police Service to get a temporary solution in place and by September 11, with a bit of a glitch on the 12th, Calgary Police Service Pay-Duty Officers were on site directing traffic during the morning rush. Roads and the developer, Genstar, then worked quickly to get an additional lane paved and dual left turns operating off of 128th Avenue. Police continued to direct traffic for a few more days but it became apparent that with the dual left turns, traffic was moving at an acceptable pace and the Police were no longer required. We have been told that traffic lights will be installed this weekend (October 11-12).



What’s next – Qualico Communities advises that Panorama Road will be reopened shortly and they hope to get another paved access mid-way between Panorama Road & 14th Street, connecting 128th Avenue to 144th Avenue. If this plan is going ahead, we will post it here as soon as we know.



AIRPORT TRAIL TUNNEL – WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING & STATUS OF MY DIALOGUE WITH FEDERAL, PROVINCIAL & CITY GOVERNMENTS________



September 29th I hosted a public open house regarding the closure of Barlow Trail north of McKnight Boulevard to accommodate construction of the new North/South Runway at the Airport. Over 200 attended, including area businesses, hotels, motels, Community Associations and residents from across Calgary. There was a tremendous support for my position that the tunnel must be constructed in advance of the runway.



I am presenting a Notice of Motion to Council on November 3rd asking for the City’s commitment to absorb 1/3 the cost of construction of a tunnel underneath the proposed North/South runway at the Airport, contingent on receiving the other 2/3 from the Provincial and Federal Governments. If approved at Council, I will be contacting first the Province, then the Federal Government to commit to a 1/3 share each.



As always, if you have any other questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact my office directly.



Jim Stevenson

Alderman, Ward 3

[clooless]

Nevermind.

[sconadian]

That highway is looking epic. Love it. Good to see they're going with round about exits. Much better than the light regulated on-ramps planned for the lower mainland's HWY 1 expansion.

[mersar]

That highway is looking epic. Love it. Good to see they're going with round about exits. Much better than the light regulated on-ramps planned for the lower mainland's HWY 1 expansion.

A number of the interchanges are light controlled still (all but Deerfoot and 16th Avenue on the NE leg, and all but Crowchild on the NW will be once its fully open and the yet to be constructed interchanges are built in the coming years), but all have been designed to be expanded to fully free-flowing in the future as the traffic volumes increase. They've already bumped one interchange which was supposedly to only be a flyover to have 2 ramps, and the Crowchild interchange was supposed to be signalized but the LRT extension forced them to do more of the full build out (they still kept a few things off the final plan on the drawing board, such as separated merge lanes)

[You Need A Thneed]

McKnight Blvd Interchange has traffic rerouted over it, I drove over it this afternoon, it looks like some of the ring road in the area has it's first layer of paving as well.

Country Hills Blvd looks mostly done, but will be a bit before traffic can go over it as well, and the finish grading leading up to the interchange is not yet complete.

Metis Trail is under construction both North and South of Country Hills Blvd. There are two lanes of it open north of Country Hills Blvd, access to Skyview Ranch, but the other lanes are under construction as well.

[mersar]

Beddington has been rerouted over its bridge as of today, they were busy with the asphalt miller ripping out the detour when I went past.

[lubicon]

The detour for the Tuscany interchange looks to be very close to opening. It has been paved, lines painted, concrete barriers installed, and the traffic lights are up (but not working as of yesterday). About all they need to do is remove the current barrier between the NB and SB lanes south of the interchange so traffic can crossover and access the detour. This has already been done on the noprth side.

[mersar]

Sounds like they shouldn't have a problem being on schedule for that one then, which is good to see.

Forgot to mention last night that they also appeared to be doing some earthmoving around the future 14th Street interchange, which isn't surprising since the development is now surrounding where 14th street will go north out of Panorama Hills all the way to the edge of the TUC. At Harvest Hills they also were doing some work on what appears to be one of the ramps to go from NB to EB, they had graded it and had the metal rods they usually use for the guide when pouring the curb in place.

[lubicon]

I don't see why they couldn't at least have the ramps built for 'right in - right out' movements at all these future interchanges, and start using them right away. But that only makes sense so I'm not sure that it will happen.

[mersar]

They've got all the lines painted on the main part of Stoney underneath Country Hills NW now, and they've laid out the guardrail for the EB to NB ramp. The lights on the west side have been bagged over again, so I'm assuming they've reset them to be working instead of leaving them set to green for EB/WB traffic. So its looking like they have a shot at the date I'd been told for the NW opening :) assuming the rest of the interchanges have their ramps paved in the next couple days

[craner]

:previous: Thanks for keeping us updated on this Mersar & Lubicon.

[lubicon]

Drove by the Country Hills (NW) and Sarcee interchanges over the weekend. I hope Mersar is right in the opening dates, but it looks like they still have a lot of work to do. AT CHB i noticed the lines painted on the NB lanes of Stoney but did not see any on the SB portion, including underneath the interchange which is now open and the lanes are marked by orange construction pylons.

Over at Sarcee there were no lines painted on either direction of Stoney that I could see. As a matter of fact they were putting another layer of pavement down on the WB lanes, east of Sarcee. The ramps from NB Sarcee - EB Stoney are paved as are the WB Stoney offramps. However there is not pavement whatsoever on the EB Stoney offramp to Sarcee, or the onramp from Sarcee to WB Stoney. They are still grading and cement work is not done either.

The weather will be good all week and they might get a lot done, but I would be surprised if we see Stoney open by the end of October.

[mersar]

Yeah, I took a drive past yesterday as well, not looking that likely since the ramps at both Sarcee and Beddington still have a ways to go. The asphalt plant was running full out (this was around 5pm on Sunday) so they are working hard at least somewhere.

Up in the NE they appear to have got at least a base pave done all the way to McKnight now, and were packing the base gravel on the approaches to the CHB NE interchange and paving the actual main part of Stoney north of CHB when I went past. The little loop-back roads for 84th are also now open, though they've left the old part of 84th unpaved for now, the new part was paved south of CHB though. The improvements to 100th Street though are nice.

[twsnagel]

Will the N portion of the ringroad really be faster than 16th Ave? I can see the rush hour times being shorter, but when I look at this map:
http://www.transportation.alberta.ca/804.htm it seems like the route is about 2x longer than the 16th Ave route.

I doubt the whole ring road, in its current configuration, will be 100km/h, considering that there are traffic lights on it, and when you consider that good portions of the existing 16th Ave are 90km/h, 80 km/h and 60 km/h, I really wonder if it will be faster.

*ducking for cover*

[You Need A Thneed]

Will the N portion of the ringroad really be faster than 16th Ave? I can see the rush hour times being shorter, but when I look at this map:
http://www.transportation.alberta.ca/804.htm it seems like the route is about 2x longer than the 16th Ave route.

I doubt the whole ring road, in its current configuration, will be 100km/h, considering that there are traffic lights on it, and when you consider that good portions of the existing 16th Ave are 90km/h, 80 km/h and 60 km/h, I really wonder if it will be faster.

*ducking for cover*

The ring road will be 100km/h everywhere except for just leading up to the lights. At rush hour, it will definately save time. I think at the best case scenario, 16th may be just as fast, but for people actually going around the city, the ring road will be easier and save fuel, etc. There's no way that large trucks would rather go through the city then take the ring road.

[The Chemist]

I doubt the whole ring road, in its current configuration, will be 100km/h, considering that there are traffic lights on it, and when you consider that good portions of the existing 16th Ave are 90km/h, 80 km/h and 60 km/h, I really wonder if it will be faster.

*ducking for cover*

Deerfoot had a limit of 100 when it still had traffic lights on it, so I'd imagine Stoney Trail will be the same. Besides, there'll be what, 3 or 4 lights maximum on the whole route? I'd guarantee it'll be faster than crossing the city on 16th, especially at rush hour.

[mersar]

Well once the NE opens next fall, it should be 4 sets: Nosehill, Crowchild (for under a year, hopefully only a few months), Harvest Hills and 17th Avenue SE. Possibly Scenic Acres/Tuscany as well, though the timeline I'd seen for that indicated that one should be open this time next year. Graham seems to be wasting no time so far, they've already rough graded all the new roadbed (the new SB lanes for Stoney, plus Tuscany Blvd), and the detour road should be open this week as it was virtually completed except a small retaining wall on Scenic Acres link when I was there on the weekend.

The bridges at Crowchild are pretty much complete now, the WB one has been completely cleared off and AECON appears to have been hauling more of their stuff off the site. Haven't seen a tender yet for the other 2 bridge components (the flyover for the SB to EB ramp, and the underpass for the NB to WB) however, it will need to be soon though so they can get started on those as it will be another year minimum for those, which starts pushing against the build period for the XRT if its to open in 2011 as scheduled.

Edit: just checked the tender schedule that AB Transporation has, it shows the 'ultimate bridges construction' being Mar 27 2009 to Dec 1 2009. There are two other items on that project, one this past August for 95% review and September 2nd was the 'tender ready' date.

[Stang]

Graham seems to be wasting no time so far, they've already rough graded all the new roadbed (the new SB lanes for Stoney, plus Tuscany Blvd), and the detour road should be open this week as it was virtually completed except a small retaining wall on Scenic Acres link when I was there on the weekend.

This morning the traffic signals and street lights on the detour road were functioning, so that is definitely close to opening up. I am actually pleasantly surprised with how quickly work has progressed on that section.

[0773|=\]

Will the N portion of the ringroad really be faster than 16th Ave? I can see the rush hour times being shorter, but when I look at this map:
http://www.transportation.alberta.ca/804.htm it seems like the route is about 2x longer than the 16th Ave route.

I doubt the whole ring road, in its current configuration, will be 100km/h, considering that there are traffic lights on it, and when you consider that good portions of the existing 16th Ave are 90km/h, 80 km/h and 60 km/h, I really wonder if it will be faster.

*ducking for cover*

That kind of stuff could easily come later. I know on Anthony Henday Drive, there were sections where signals were removed or the road just opened up further and they went over the route and raised speed limits in areas where it was warranted.

Having not driven on Stoney Trail in a while, the 80 km/hr sections are directly north of 16th as far as ... Crowchild? Aside from signals, are there unsignalized at-grade crossings? What about shoulders, do they presently look like they're 10 ft wide (freeway standard)? Those are good indicators of the final (design) speed.

[mersar]

currently there is only about 1km of the entire road that is at 80 (between 16th and Nosehill), the rest is all under construction of some form. No unsignallized intersections,

[mersar]

Well the detour at Scenic Acres is still closed, though it didn't stop at least 1 person from taking it when I was going past there as theres only a handful of plastic barriers with plenty of gaps between them. The portable electronic signs they had at either end of the construction zone indicating that its closed are gone, and they appeared to have cleared pretty much everything off the roadway so it won't be long.

[YYCguys]

Mostly related update from Ward 3 Office:

Airport Trail Extension West to Harvest Hills Boulevard

Airport Trail is to be extended west to Harvest Hills Boulevard. Our Engineers are working on the final design and expect that construction will commence in the spring or summer of 2009. Work is on-going to get permission from Canadian Pacific Railways to put a bridge over their rail lines and to get permission from Alberta Environment to put a bridge over Nose Creek.

The Transportation Department is also working on plans to construct two lanes of Airport Trail from the east freeway to Metis Trail. This is targeted for opening in the fall of 2009 to coincide with Metis Trail being constructed from 80th Avenue north to Stoney Trail.

:shrug: I just don't get why this city feels the need to have roads that end and then resumes elsewhere in the city. Sarcee Trail is one example I can think of, where it ends in Bowness but then resumes north of Silver Springs. I understand that there is a major barrier, ie: the Bow River, but why not name the road something else? Since Calgary's in the habit of naming major roads like that after First Nations, which First Nations are still not honoured with a road?

[mersar]

:shrug: I just don't get why this city feels the need to have roads that end and then resumes elsewhere in the city. Sarcee Trail is one example I can think of, where it ends in Bowness but then resumes north of Silver Springs. I understand that there is a major barrier, ie: the Bow River, but why not name the road something else? Since Calgary's in the habit of naming major roads like that after First Nations, which First Nations are still not honoured with a road?

We were discussing this in the main Calgary thread yesterday. This is another case where the new road is planned to be connected to the existing Airport Trail, so long as the tunnel gets built, similar to how Sarcee was supposed to be connected, but they abandoned the plan to run it down through Edworthy Park and over the river.

[You Need A Thneed]

:shrug: I just don't get why this city feels the need to have roads that end and then resumes elsewhere in the city. Sarcee Trail is one example I can think of, where it ends in Bowness but then resumes north of Silver Springs. I understand that there is a major barrier, ie: the Bow River, but why not name the road something else? Since Calgary's in the habit of naming major roads like that after First Nations, which First Nations are still not honoured with a road?

Yeah, like Mersar said, the tunnel under the runway (which will go ahead- as far as I'm concerned) will connect Airport Trail into one continous road. Also, the connection to 96th Ave across Nose Creek and the CPR tracks that will be built next year will make Airport Trail one continuous road from Stoney Trail in the east to Harvest Hills Blvd in the west.

I agree that if the tunnel never goes ahead, it shouldn't be called Airport Trail east of the Airport.

[freeweed]

Scenic Acres bypass is open today. Tiny tiny amounts of progress on other parts, like some more lines being painted on CHB.

[mersar]

http://compscience.info/public/images/2008/stoneytrailbeddington-oct26-1.jpg
Looking towards Beddington @ Stoney Trail, the NB lanes are open for both directions of traffic

http://compscience.info/public/images/2008/stoneytrailcountryhillsne-oct26-1.jpg
Looking north from the detour road at Country Hills Blvd NE. Base pavement is completed to the bridge

http://compscience.info/public/images/2008/stoneytrailcountryhillsne-oct26-2.jpg
Looking south from the detour road at Country Hills Blvd NE. Base pave is completed towards Mcknight

http://compscience.info/public/images/2008/stoneytrailmcknight-oct26-1.jpg
Looking north from the bridge over Stoney at McKnight Blvd NE

http://compscience.info/public/images/2008/metistrail-oct26-1.jpg
Looking south at the Metis Trail extension south of Country Hills

http://compscience.info/public/images/2008/metistrail-oct26-2.jpg
Looking east at 128th Avenue NE towards Deerfoot

http://compscience.info/public/images/2008/metistrail-oct26-3.jpg
Looking north at Metis towards Stoney

http://compscience.info/public/images/2008/metistrail-oct26-4.jpg
Part of the newly opened Metis between Country Hills and 128th Avenue

http://compscience.info/public/images/2008/beddington-oct26-1.jpg
The Beddington Interchange at Country Hills

[mersar]

Sounds like Beddington @ Country Hills opens next week. From CityBeat:

*NEW*
• Beddington Trail N.W. between Berkshire Boulevard and Country Hills Boulevard is closed in both directions, as well as Beddington Trail N.W. between Harvest Hills Boulevard and Berkshire Boulevard in the northbound direction only, beginning at 10 a.m. on Thursday, November 6 until 5 a.m. on Monday, November 10 for roadwork associated with the Beddington Trail and Country Hills Boulevard Interchange. Through traffic will be detoured via Harvest Hills Boulevard and Country Hills Boulevard with local traffic into Country Hills Estates detoured via Beddington Boulevard and Berkshire Boulevard. Following this closure, Beddington Trail will re-open with traffic over the new interchange bridge.

[lubicon]

That figures. The only time I actually need to use Beddington in probably a year or more and now I have to find an alternate route.

[freeweed]

Anyone wanna place bets on any new part of Stoney actually opening before 2009? Considering the sad state the Sarcee interchange was in last I drove over it (a few days ago), I'd be amazed if we saw anything happen this year.

[mersar]

Sarcee only needed paving last I went through, they'd graveled and packed all the lanes and it looked like the mainline under the bridge was paved. Beddington is my main concern, as they were still doing the earthwork on the ramps. That said, its going to depend on the weather a huge lot.


Supposedly theres a sign down by Glenmore about an open house coming up for the SW part, not sure when or where as I didn't feel like trying to find it tonight with this weather.

[crooked rain]

Per Transportation Alberta, the SW open house is:

November 20, 2008 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at First Lutheran Church (7102 - 14 Avenue SW).

http://www.transportation.alberta.ca/sthwy8-gp.htm


Now that I live in the western suburbs, I am going to show up at the open house and go all NIMBY on them. It is my entitlement as a a resident of the west side.

[lubicon]

Anyone wanna place bets on any new part of Stoney actually opening before 2009? Considering the sad state the Sarcee interchange was in last I drove over it (a few days ago), I'd be amazed if we saw anything happen this year.

They're sure taking their sweet time, I can't believe the lack of progress on this portion.

[Arriviste]

So you guys in the know, I ask you this: Where is the best spit right now to take some pics of the Ring road? I want it to be isolated, preferably where you can't see much other than ring road, and horizon or country.
Recommendations?
I'm not planning on doing any documentation of the build, but rather want to photograph the "progress" as more of a commentary.

[bigcanuck]

Per Transportation Alberta, the SW open house is:

November 20, 2008 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at First Lutheran Church (7102 - 14 Avenue SW).

http://www.transportation.alberta.ca/sthwy8-gp.htm


Now that I live in the western suburbs, I am going to show up at the open house and go all NIMBY on them. It is my entitlement as a a resident of the west side.

Man - I can't wait for this portion to be built.

[mersar]

So you guys in the know, I ask you this: Where is the best spit right now to take some pics of the Ring road? I want it to be isolated, preferably where you can't see much other than ring road, and horizon or country.
Recommendations?
I'm not planning on doing any documentation of the build, but rather want to photograph the "progress" as more of a commentary.

If you want to see out past the ringroad into fields, I'd suggest anywhere between Deerfoot along west along the northside of Panorma Hills would work, you can get right up to the road at 15th St NE by the CPR bridge (go north off Country hills, but be prepared cause the road is in rough shape due to construction along it), or right at Harvest Hills Blvd. Pretty much the rest west of Panorama Hills (at about where the 14th Street interchange will be) has houses on the north side as well.

[Vascilli]

Per Transportation Alberta, the SW open house is:

November 20, 2008 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at First Lutheran Church (7102 - 14 Avenue SW).

http://www.transportation.alberta.ca/sthwy8-gp.htm


Now that I live in the western suburbs, I am going to show up at the open house and go all NIMBY on them. It is my entitlement as a a resident of the west side.

:haha: Tell me how many Hummers and other shiny SUVs there are. (I loove your avatar.. :D)

Has an LRT line running the length of the road been considered?

[craner]

At least there is only 3 interchanges required on this portion of the SW leg which I hope would speed construction. The molasses pace of the NW portion is discouraging.
GO P3 !

[MalcolmTucker]

:haha: Tell me how many Hummers and other shiny SUVs there are. (I loove your avatar.. :D)

Has an LRT line running the length of the road been considered?

If an LRT along the road was ever deemed useful (which is unlikely, since in a corridor that wide your not gonna have much room for TOD), there is lots of room to build it.

When the road is done I could see express buses that just fly down the roads only stopping at transit stations and/or compatible overpasses.

[Arriviste]

If you want to see out past the ringroad into fields, I'd suggest anywhere between Deerfoot along west along the northside of Panorma Hills would work, you can get right up to the road at 15th St NE by the CPR bridge (go north off Country hills, but be prepared cause the road is in rough shape due to construction along it), or right at Harvest Hills Blvd. Pretty much the rest west of Panorama Hills (at about where the 14th Street interchange will be) has houses on the north side as well.

Awesome. Much appreciated. Maybe I will post some of em when I get around to the shoot.

[Slug]

Was thinking this while passing under the North Deerfoot interchange UC: People will be pissed when this is built and still get stuck at Beddington during the morning rush.

[mersar]

Was thinking this while passing under the North Deerfoot interchange UC: People will be pissed when this is built and still get stuck at Beddington during the morning rush.

Stuck at Beddington on Deerfoot? Or on Stoney?



I took a run up past the Sarcee interchange tonight, its just about ready to open. They've paved all the lanes, and the traffic lights are up and bagged over on both sides of the interchange. They probably need to do one more layer of pavement yet, but the equipment is all sitting there.

[Slug]

Southbound Deerfoot at Beddington, where 5 lanes try their hardest to become 3.

[yeeg]

Looks like the first layer of asphalt is down...I highly doubt they will lay the second layer due to the amount of construction traffic on the road at this time...The only thing they need to do is pave the southbound turning area onto Stoney trail eastbound...Once that happens, I think they should be good to go...

[mersar]

We've got to be close now. The street lights from Country Hills towards Sarcee were all on tonight.

And 85th Street is closed until the weekend for its realignment as well.

[yeeg]

Traffic lights on Sarcee overpass were flashing as I was on my way home from work last night...