Transportation committee approves $1.5B Crowchild Trail upgrade

An expansive plan to upgrade Crowchild Trail has been given the green light by the City of Calgary’s transportation committee.

As part of the $1.5-billion modernization, bridges over the Bow River would be widened to allow for an additional lane of traffic in each direction and new ramps and interchanges constructed to help ease bottleneck hang-ups between 24 Avenue NW and 17 Avenue SW.

READ MORE: Crowchild Trail upgrades include plans for Bow River bridge

The thumbs-up from the city committee came despite serious misgivings from the St. Pius X Catholic Church on 24 Avenue NW.

Parishioner June Bergman said the church is concerned that a ramp leading up to a planned interchange in the area would have a serious impact on parking and the parish hall located behind the church.

“There is little doubt in our minds that should the plans go ahead without taking into account the concerns outlined, there will be serious impact on the operation of our parish. Probably leading to the complete collapse of the parish,” she added.

The rest of the blueprint would see interchanges at 5 Avenue NW, Kensington Road and 16 Avenue NW, as well as access upgrades from 10 Avenue and Memorial Drive to Crowchild Trail.

A 1.3-km tunnel would channel traffic between Memorial Drive and University Drive NW.

Construction on Crowchild Trail would be completed in phases and the city will still need to rubber stamp the plan.

If approved, bridge work over the Bow River would begin this summer. Mid-term solutions are not planned until the mid-2020’s