CALGARY – Officials say construction of the Calgary Ring Road is two-thirds complete, and there is only 31 kilometers of road to go before the ‘ring’ will be connected.
The remaining section of ring road will be built in two sections:
- The Southwest Calgary Ring Road (from 69 Street SW to Highway 2A) most of which is on current Tsuu T’ina land
- The West Calgary Ring Road (from Highway 1 to 69 Street SW) within City limits.
As well, 10 kilometres of connector roads and interchanges will be upgraded as part of the overall project.
When finished, the final section of the ring road will contain 66 bridges, 20 interchanges, two underpasses and several river crossings.
The details were released at a news conference on Wednesday, during which officials unveiled new planning drawings for the last section of the Calgary Ring Road.
“While we are still a long way from putting shovels in the ground, we are committed to providing residents with the most up-to-date information on what the road is going to look like,” said Minister of Transportation Wayne Drysdale, in a news release.
BELOW: A map of the final leg of the Calgary Ring Road
Officials say the ring road will help reduce local traffic congestion while helping to improve market access for Alberta’s products.
Fall information Sessions
Public information sessions will be held in the fall or early winter of 2014 to give residents an opportunity to talk with officials and learn more about the plans.
Next Steps
The Government of Alberta and Tsuu T’ina Nation signed a land transfer agreement in November of 2013.
Once the land is transferred, the agreement requires the province to complete the southwest section within seven years.
Alberta Transportation is aligning planning and resources to fulfill that commitment, while also moving forward with the west section of the ring road to complete the circle.
Final timelines have not yet been set but it is expected that construction of these two projects will overlap.
The Alberta government will review business cases on whether it is viable to finance the remaining ring road sections as a Public Private Partnership (P3) or through conventional means.
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