Calgary Area Highways

[You Need A Thneed]

Oh, before I forget...

It's a small detail, but HWY 2 between Airdrie and North of Carstairs has a cable barrier system in the median now. About 35 km worth. According to Alberta Transportation's website, it will eventually stretch north to Innisfail.

[Stang]

Originally Posted by You Need A Thneed

Oh, before I forget...

It's a small detail, but HWY 2 between Airdrie and North of Carstairs has a cable barrier system in the median now. About 35 km worth. According to Alberta Transportation's website, it will eventually stretch north to Innisfail.

I drove up to Edmonton last week, and they were doing quite a bit of work on it. The median on that stretch of road is very narrow and actually gives me the creeps, so this post and cable system will be much welcomed there.

Compare this to the median between near Leduc and Edmonton, which is the widest that I have ever seen. Is there a reason it is so wide there?

[You Need A Thneed]

Originally Posted by Stang

Compare this to the median between near Leduc and Edmonton, which is the widest that I have ever seen. Is there a reason it is so wide there?

I'm guessing it's for future express lanes.

[mersar]

Looks like the twinning of highway 1A from where the current divided highway ends all the way to the Gleneagles intersection in Cochrane is about to get underway. Construction zone signs have been posted about 1km out on either side of the stretch, and according to reports from my dad surveyors have been out in the area doing work in the last couple weeks.

As well, the province is doing some minor upgrades to the Highway 1A/Highway 22 intersection, widening things and adding dedicated turn lanes where possible (the south approach to the intersection is on top of a bridge, so not too much can be done on that side)

[tmjr]

Whenever I drive by the Petrocanada station at the interchange between #22 and Transcanada west of Calgary, there are always a lot of cars parked nearby.

At first I thought it was some sort of shuttle bus service point, but there are often cars there late at night as well.

Does anyone know why they are there?

Thanks!

[Stang]

^ I have wondered that myself. The best theory that I have come up with is that it is a handy rendezvous point for people heading to the mountains where they can ditch a car or two and jump into one together.

But it seems like there are consistently too many cars for that. Anyone know?

[You Need A Thneed]

Meeting point to carpool to the mountains.

[mersar]

Its a bit of both. Theres a lot of carpooling out to the mountains on the weekends, and into the city on weekdays. Plus during the summer theres a tour company that uses that area for pickups I believe (one summer they were even doing helicopter trips from near there)

[srperrycgy]

Given the popularity, a public park-and-ride lot should be explored. Having folks park on the side of the road isn't terribly safe.

[freeweed]

It's a carpool lot for trips the mountains. For hiking, but especially for skiing. You can really see this on a Saturday or Sunday morning during ski season - everyone is dressed for the slopes and half of them are hauling gear.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by srperrycgy

Given the popularity, a public park-and-ride lot should be explored. Having folks park on the side of the road isn't terribly safe.

It's nowhere close to the highway, it's on a service road.

[Jay in Cowtown]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

It's nowhere close to the highway, it's on a service road.

Yup, it's maintained by the County of Rockyview... people used to park at the Petrocan and at the rest area to the west untill they were kicked out.

I wish I owned that property, I'd bulldoze that shithole over and build a gigantic Flying J or something similar to what was built at Aldersyde on Hwy2 with a 30 acre parking lot.

[srperrycgy]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

It's nowhere close to the highway, it's on a service road.

I didn't mean parking on the side of the highway.

[Jack Doe]

It appears that the twinning will be extended to Hwy 22.

1A - E of Hwy 22 to W of Hwy 766 Twinning - Grade, Base, Stage Paving 6 [km]
Contract for 2010 & 2011 Construction
1A - Major Intersection Improvement @ Jct Hwy 1A & 22
Intersection Improvement
1A - Bighill Creek Bridge on Highway 1A, at N Boundary of Cochrane (521-1)
Structure Replacement
1A - Hwy 22 - E of Hwy 22 Twinning - Grade, Base, Stage Paving 4 [km]

22 - CPR Overpass on Highway 22, at W Boundary of Cochrane (77466-1)
Twinning - Structure

This is from the 2011-14 Major Construction Projects. The 4 km from Hwy 22 to the current twinning as well as the Hwy22/CPR Overpass twinning is new.

I would like to see an interchange at 1A/22 but I think the budget deficit precludes this.

Planning info can be found here:

http://www.transportation.alberta.ca...s/calgary.aspx

Unfortunately, it doesn't show the configuration of 1A on Cochrane Hill.

------------------------------------------

^^^
I originally posted this in the Calgary/Stoney Trail thread but decided to re-post it here as it has little or nothing to do with Stoney Trail.

If you want to see what the 1A might look like thru Cochrane, check out:

http://tinyurl.com/46vkbvt [Warning: large file]

go to page 21

As for twinning on Cochrane Hill, I would imagine that would involve a lot of retaining walls, but that is just speculation on my part.

This shows the planned interchange locations between Calgary and Cochrane:

http://www.rockyview.ca/LinkClick.as...id=446&mid=858

go to page 19

If anybody regularly travels between Calgary and Cochrane and can get some pictures of the current construction, they would be greatly appreciated. I haven't been out to that area for about two years. Still waiting for the Glenbow Ranch PP to open up.

[mersar]

Had a trip to and from Lethbridge last night, and was surprised to see how much they've got done on the re-alignment of the #2 between High River and Nanton. The project is to remove the sharp curve right to the south of where the highway used to pass over the now demolished CPR track, essentially having the highway curve to the SE much gentler. They've already tore out the former northbound lanes, and have all traffic running single lane on the southbound lanes. A lot of earth moving has been done on the new alignment, and the former fairly water logged area that the highway will be running through is now mostly solid ground. The old bridge for the northbound lanes is still there, but they've excavated a lot of dirt from around it and both bridges will be removed and the approaches completely flattened from what I could find about the project.

West of Calgary they've also got quite a bit of work done on the 1A twinning, I took a video a week or so ago that I plan to post as soon as I can get around to unloading it from my phone.

[craner]

I'm going to do some traveling on area highways to check this action out - Thanks for the info guys.

[freeweed]

mersar, I've noticed that too. There's been a ton of work in the last handful of years on that stretch and the progress has been nothing short of amazing.

[You Need A Thneed]

Originally Posted by mersar

Had a trip to and from Lethbridge last night, and was surprised to see how much they've got done on the re-alignment of the #2 between High River and Nanton. The project is to remove the sharp curve right to the south of where the highway used to pass over the now demolished CPR track, essentially having the highway curve to the SE much gentler. They've already tore out the former northbound lanes, and have all traffic running single lane on the southbound lanes. A lot of earth moving has been done on the new alignment, and the former fairly water logged area that the highway will be running through is now mostly solid ground. The old bridge for the northbound lanes is still there, but they've excavated a lot of dirt from around it and both bridges will be removed and the approaches completely flattened from what I could find about the project.

West of Calgary they've also got quite a bit of work done on the 1A twinning, I took a video a week or so ago that I plan to post as soon as I can get around to unloading it from my phone.

You can hardly tell that there used to be four lanes of highway there in some places.

Anyway, a good project, that curve was always a bit scary, with drifting snow and slippery surface issues. Also, the highway shoulders are pretty narrow in that stretch.

[mersar]

Highway 1A is still no where near being done, parts of the road have had the base gravel poured, others are pretty rough. Probably next summer it will be done now (I'd initially heard it was to be finished this fall).

Highway 2 north of Nanton is coming along nicely. The highway now follows the new alignment though only the NB lanes are built and running as 2 way traffic.

[mersar]

Miracles do seem to happen it seems. Highway 1A is probably 2/3 oiled and ready for paving, with just the east most segment still needing a lot of grading. On the west end they're getting ready to pour the new medians they are installing at the Gleneagles Drive intersection, then theres just a small stretch of probably 150' to build between there and where the edge of the oiled new lanes are. Most of the new service roads are also coming along, from my count they are removing 3 entire intersections (2 full and 1 T) between Cochrane and where the highway is currently twinned at.