Calgary Stoney Trail [Ring Road]

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by mersar

^ Fall 2013 actually. The province hasn't committed to it being a P3 absolutely, they did solicit bids but said if the bids don't come in competitive that they'd do it the traditional method. I'd expect to hear it will be a P3 pretty soon, to be honest I'm half expecting them to announce it on Monday at the opening of the NE.

Just so you know, the bids aren't even finalized yet for the SE Stoney portion. You won't hear who the preferred proponent is until the New Year, guaranteed.

I would be extremely shocked if SE Stoney isn't done via the P3 method. EXTREMELY.

Anyway, I was out on the NE portion this morning, and they're literally down the final touches. Lots of little things being done right now. They could have basically opened last week, so you can be sure that the road will be open November 2nd. McKnight and Country Hills were getting their sidewalk stuff finalized, and the Country Hills Detour and 52nd Street crossing are already gone. Metis Trail is now open from Country Hills up to 144th Ave through the Stoney Trail interchange.

Standard General is working their asses off on Deerfoot. The Stoney Ramps are coming along nicely but they still have a lot to do to get Deerfoot finished. I wonder if they'll be working two shifts 24 hours a day to finish in time.

[You Need A Thneed]

Mazrim, you seem to have some inside info, so I'll ask you this question (perhaps outside of your knowledge). Is Metis Trail opening up all the way to Balzac/Mallzac next week too?

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by You Need A Thneed

Is Metis Trail opening up all the way to Balzac/Mallzac next week too?

Please, for the love of all that is holy, say YES. The 566 interchange is really not up to the task right now. I can only imagine what Xmas is going to be like if the current state continues.

Also agreed that much work on Deerfoot remains. they were just laying gravel beds for the final lanes on the weekend. Not sure you can build a freeway-class road in that amount of time, but who knows. Slipforming uber alles?

[You Need A Thneed]

Originally Posted by freeweed

Please, for the love of all that is holy, say YES. The 566 interchange is really not up to the task right now. I can only imagine what Xmas is going to be like if the current state continues.

Also agreed that much work on Deerfoot remains. they were just laying gravel beds for the final lanes on the weekend. Not sure you can build a freeway-class road in that amount of time, but who knows. Slipforming uber alles?

The new access off of HWY 2 should help, but only to get in, not to get out until the ramp over HWY 2 is built.

Sometimes these kinds of projects seem to get a lot done before a deadline. I've seen quite a few projects that have seemed to go slowly, then right at the end everything gets done and it opens right away.

Substantially complete and open doesn't mean that 100% of the work is done either. They could have the bridge structures all open without the full off ramps being complete.. Who knows.

[Mazrim]

Metis Trail North of Stoney and 144th Avenue was still a lot of ungraded dirt this morning, there's not a whole lot done yet. I can't see it being ready for another month honestly. There's just way too much left to be done to get that thing ready. That being said, they're plowing Metis in really fast South of Stoney, so maybe they'll move quickly.

They started paving the initial lift on Deerfoot NB this morning, but that was only a small portion that was at the correct grade so I'm not going to pretend that means they're in the clear. Not only do they need to finish repaving the mainline, but they also need to fix up the Stoney ramp after traffic has been moved over. It won't be pretty, but I'm sure they don't want to be working still when the Premier is there cutting ribbons and such.

[BFHeadstone]

Did anyone read the story in the Sun today about how angry BigPlume is about the construction of the interchange at 37th and Glenmore going ahead asap with no input from the reserve about a possible entry road

They are even threatening legal action.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by BFHeadstone

Did anyone read the story in the Sun today about how angry BigPlume is about the construction of the interchange at 37th and Glenmore going ahead asap with no input from the reserve about a possible entry road

They are even threatening legal action.

Yeah, we were talking about it either here or on another thread the other day.

Expect the city to basically flip them the bird. After everything that's happened, I'm pretty sure the city has checked with a dozen lawyers and knows 100% just what is legally required here.

[YYCguys]

Out of courtesy of being a good neighbor, perhaps the City could just say to BigPlume, "This is what the interchange looks like. This is what is going to get built. Develop your internal plans based on that". After all, putting in direct access to the Casino would not be legally required, as the only legal access to the Nation is Bullhead Road (Anderson Road). The access that Brono and BigPlume are arguing over was only ever intended to be temporary. (And the way things move at a snail's pace in the city, temporary means YEARS...just look at Rocky Ridge Road access at Crowchild Trail: that's been temporary for a dozen years or more!)

[lubicon]

The 'temporary' 60 km construction speed limit has now been lifted on Stoney, south of the Tuscany interchange. It is now the 'normal' 80km/h both NB and SB from the interchange south. I suspect it will remain at 80 until either the Crowchild interchange is finished, or the lights are removed at Nose Hill Drive (which is my guess). A little bit of good news.

[Doug_Cgy]

Originally Posted by YYCguys

Out of courtesy of being a good neighbor, perhaps the City could just say to BigPlume, "This is what the interchange looks like. This is what is going to get built. Develop your internal plans based on that". After all, putting in direct access to the Casino would not be legally required, as the only legal access to the Nation is Bullhead Road (Anderson Road). The access that Brono and BigPlume are arguing over was only ever intended to be temporary. (And the way things move at a snail's pace in the city, temporary means YEARS...just look at Rocky Ridge Road access at Crowchild Trail: that's been temporary for a dozen years or more!)

I'm all for the city moving forward without the Tsu Tina's approval...They f*&ked us over for years and have really put a wrench into the SW ring road.

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

Just so you know, the bids aren't even finalized yet for the SE Stoney portion. You won't hear who the preferred proponent is until the New Year, guaranteed.

I would be extremely shocked if SE Stoney isn't done via the P3 method. EXTREMELY.

Anyway, I was out on the NE portion this morning, and they're literally down the final touches. Lots of little things being done right now. They could have basically opened last week, so you can be sure that the road will be open November 2nd. McKnight and Country Hills were getting their sidewalk stuff finalized, and the Country Hills Detour and 52nd Street crossing are already gone. Metis Trail is now open from Country Hills up to 144th Ave through the Stoney Trail interchange.

Standard General is working their asses off on Deerfoot. The Stoney Ramps are coming along nicely but they still have a lot to do to get Deerfoot finished. I wonder if they'll be working two shifts 24 hours a day to finish in time.

Trent Bancarz (sp?) from AB Transportation was interviewed for a few minutes on QR77 at about 5:17 PM yesterday and he said the opening date as not been finalized for the NE leg. He thinks an announcement will be made either today or tomorrow as to which day next week the opening will be. Reading between the lines it seems like the contractors must have told them to hold off for a bit until they are more sure when the project will be completed.

He also said the bids for the SE leg have not come in it but that they'll determine the winner early in the new year. This sounds exactly like what they did with the NE leg a few years ago. Contract was awared mid-February 2007, first open house near the end of March and it seemed like construction started immediately after that. The bids would have to be very high for this not to be a P3 project.

Before the SE leg contract is announced I think we might hear announcements about more interchanges for the NW leg. The feds and the province announced funding for two more interchanges for Edmonton's screwed up first leg about a month ago which I think will end fixing that section for them. Hopefully our NW leg will be fixed at the same time. Should be interesting to see what finishes first--SE leg or the NW leg being made fully free-flow.

[korzym]

LOL if the SE finishes first..
thanks for sharing, that actually helps me better plan for some arrangements I made.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Corndogger

Trent Bancarz (sp?) from AB Transportation was interviewed for a few minutes on QR77 at about 5:17 PM yesterday and he said the opening date as not been finalized for the NE leg. He thinks an announcement will be made either today or tomorrow as to which day next week the opening will be. Reading between the lines it seems like the contractors must have told them to hold off for a bit until they are more sure when the project will be completed.

He also said the bids for the SE leg have not come in it but that they'll determine the winner early in the new year. This sounds exactly like what they did with the NE leg a few years ago. Contract was awared mid-February 2007, first open house near the end of March and it seemed like construction started immediately after that. The bids would have to be very high for this not to be a P3 project.

Before the SE leg contract is announced I think we might hear announcements about more interchanges for the NW leg. The feds and the province announced funding for two more interchanges for Edmonton's screwed up first leg about a month ago which I think will end fixing that section for them. Hopefully our NW leg will be fixed at the same time. Should be interesting to see what finishes first--SE leg or the NW leg being made fully free-flow.

- They probably won't confirm anything until they confirm the schedules of all the big wigs that want to be there to look important. I would laugh my ass off if they delayed the opening so some CEO or Government official could be in front of the Cameras on the day of.

- The winner of the NE bid started work only a few weeks after being informed they won. Mind you this was all preliminary work like borehole drilling, but they were off and running before the public even knew all the details. The bid you submit for a project like this is complete enough that you can start construction with it. The real heavy machinery didn't start showing up right away only because they had to ship it all from Kicking Horse Canyon as they were wrapping up the Park Bridge project there.

- Thanks to Nose Hill Drive and the Bow River bridge, I doubt we'll see the NW being free-flow for some time.

Oh yeah, random note...I was on NB Stoney just off 16th Avenue and noticed the sign showing distances to the next intersections had a pretty noticeable mistake. I didn't know the city renamed Nose Hill Drive to Nosehill Drive! ...

[korzym]

Just remembered that I emailed my MLA and they told me to call them on friday when they will have more details, perhaps the gov has been expecting to a degree to hold off on the opening

[Mazrim]

I have an email in my inbox with the "official invitation" to the opening...barring some crazy problem it looks confirmed.

[You Need A Thneed]

Calgary's north ring road opening next week

26 kilometres of free-flow highway ready for traffic

BY JASON MARKUSOFF, CALGARY HERALDOCTOBER 30, 2009 7:49 AM

CALGARY - The provincial government will cut a ribbon Monday to officially open Calgary's northeast ring road and the remainder of the northwest section, giving the city 26 new kilometres of free-flow highway.

The construction group hired to build Stoney Trail from 17th Avenue S.E. to Deerfoot Trail is contractually obligated to have it ready for Nov. 1. The province has planned an event Monday to herald the completion, government officials said.

The opening of the biggest road project in Alberta history comes at an opportune time for Premier Ed Stelmach, who is expected to preside over the ceremony, according to government sources. Days later, Progressive Conservative delegates will vote on whether to review his party leadership, and much of the discontent has come from the very city that reaps the benefits of the ribbon cutting.

In addition to the northeast leg, the final unopened portion of the northwest branch from Deerfoot to Harvest Hills Boulevard will open at the same time. It includes both halves of the Deerfoot-Stoney interchange.

"It's going to be so much easier to get a round the city," said Ald. Jim Stevenson, who represents the city's northeast.

The $936-million deal to build and maintain the road for 30 years doesn't go so far as to state the northeast portion will be open to traffic at the start of next month--simply that it be complete.

"Ultimately the decision lies with us, but they're contractually obligated to have it ready by then," said Alberta Transportation spokesman Trent Bancarz.

The opening will give Stelmach the best burst of Calgary good news since his party finished a dismal third in a byelection in his former deputy premier's southwest Calgary riding. That loss to the upstart Wildrose Alliance --and subsequent criticism, mainly among Calgary Tories --heightened speculation the premier may fare poorly in the leadership vote Nov. 7 in Red Deer.

However, a Calgary political scientist said the Tory leader shouldn't expect a big bump from the completion of more than one-quarter of Calgary's ring road.

"Even thought it's a major facility here in Calgary, at the end of the day, it's just another announcement that's not really new," said Duane Bratt of Mount Royal University. "He's got bigger problems dealing with vaccinations than traffic right now."

"If he was announcing better budget numbers or the opening of the Calgary south hospital, I think that would make a difference. But not something like this."

Stelmach might win more support if he could announce a breakthrough on the ring road's beleaguered and uncertain southwest portion, Bratt added.

The northeast section features interchanges at Metis Trail, Country Hills Boulevard, 96th Avenue N.E., McKnight Trail (sic) and the Trans-Canada Highway, as well as traffic lights at 17th Avenue S.E.

The 96th Avenue exit could eventually be called Airport Trail if it connects to a costly airport-access tunnel that many northeast businesses and residents are demanding to replace Barlow Trail access that will be scrapped for a new runway.

Stevenson predicted the new ring road segment won't be popular immediately, but cars and trucks will quickly make it a fixture of Calgary commuting.

jmarkusoff@theherald. canwest.com

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

The 96th Avenue exit could eventually called "open" if the city gets around to actually building the road.

[Mazrim]

Yeah, the nice big CLOSED stickers will be on the 96th Avenue signs when the rest of the road opens. Oh well.

I'll be surprised if they don't open the North East to traffic on Monday. I know there are some small things still being completed, but everything should be good to go. Still wondering how Deerfoot is looking though...

[korzym]

My MLA office confirmed that it will be open on monday after calling Alberta transportation

[mersar]

Took a drove up there tonight, the 'closed' stickers on all the signs on Deerfoot are gone, main lanes are on the proper alignments, ramps all look to be paved and connected now (at least NB). Tons of workers around still at 6pm

[freeweed]

Damn thing better be open on Monday - it's being blasted all over the news that it will be.

Imagine the chaos when 25,000 people try to use a non-existent road.