Canada Day weekend traffic: Alberta highway crews pause construction

Traffic was at a standstill on the Trans-Canada Highway Wednesday afternoon, but there’s some good news for drivers heading west from Calgary for the Canada Day long weekend.

READ MORE: Canada Day events in Calgary – and where to watch fireworks

Construction on the highway at Scott Lake Hill includes speed restrictions as low as 80 km/h in some spots, but the Parks Canada road paving crews will be hanging up their hard hats for the weekend, with highway work across the province resuming Tuesday.

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“They were conscious at the start that they didn’t want to impact long weekend travels,” 511 Alberta operations manager Patrick Fitzhenry said.

“As a consequence it was decided at the start that there would be no construction on long weekends.”

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To ease traffic, shuttle buses will run from an overflow parking lot west of Banff starting Friday.

The busses will take visitors up to Lake Louise, hopefully saving thousands of drivers the short but crowded trip.

Before you head out on the road, the province suggests checking 511 Alberta.