SWRR Update from Alberta Transportation
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Drivers face major detour at Glenmore and Sarcee as work continues on ring road interchange
The Alberta government is warning of potential traffic delays as new detours are put in place for construction of the southwest ring road, but it’s hoping for minimal impact on motorists.
The biggest impact is expected to be felt from the June closure of the section of Highway 8 that connects with Glenmore Trail to allow for the building of a massive new interchange.
East-west traffic will be diverted on to Sarcee Trail, where new u-turn lanes will be installed to handle the flow of vehicles between the thoroughfares until the fall of 2020.
“We’ve done everything we can to ensure the level of service stays as high as possible, keeping the same number of lanes moving in each direction,” Alberta Transportation spokesman Adam Johnson told reporters touring construction on Monday.
“(But) some planning should be put in place. As much as we are aiming for the original level of service, especially in the early days of this detour … there are going to be some delays.”
Work on the Highway 8/Glenmore Trail corridor will also see the temporary closure of 101st Street between June 2 and 10, with Lower Springbank Road serving as the detour. Lower Springbank Road will itself be closed permanently in July.
Residents of Lakeview will also be affected as access to the neighbourhood from Glenmore Trail will be shifted along the new Grey Eagle Boulevard in June. North access from 37th Street will be closed.
A number of changes are also being made along the Highway 22X corridor between now and the fall, including a realignment at Macleod Trail this spring, but Alberta Transportation’s project manager, Rizwan Hussain, said traffic should not be affected.
The province showed off on Monday the realigned Elbow River running under the three new bridges that go through the Weaselhead.
The government says it successfully created new channels for sections of the Elbow River and Fish Creek between April 15 and 30 to allow for construction, relocating 13,000 fish in the process.
The diversion required the approval of the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, as well as the provincial government.
The $1.4-billion southwest ring road has been under discussion for decades but only was able to move forward once a land deal with the Tsuut’ina Nation was reached by the government in 2013.
The scope of the ring road project has attracted criticism, with the NDP government acknowledging it is being “overbuilt” but saying it cannot significantly alter the plans because of the timelines it is operating under.
Under the agreement with the Tsuut’ina signed by the former Progressive Conservative government, the province faces a May 2022 deadline for completion of the roadway, running from Highway 22X to Glenmore Trail, or else the land reverts to the First Nation.
In January, Environment Minister Shannon Phillips ordered the protection of four wetlands in or near the Elbow River valley close to ring road construction, which had been the subject of a hearing by the province’s Environment Appeals Board.
Hussain said the only change required to adhere to the order is the addition of a retaining wall to the Beaver Pond wetland.
Source:
http://calgaryherald.com/news/politi...ad-interchange
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