Drivers who regularly commute on the Queen Elizabeth II Highway heading to and from Edmonton’s airport will have to contend with more construction woes for the foreseeable future as work is ongoing to convert the two-lane southbound overpass to the airport into a five-lane overpass.
However, the project’s proponents say the wait will be worth it and that the work will lead to smoother and safer commutes.
“You can get backed up onto the highway and then it gets very scary when you have people going 120 kilometres per hour and other people going zero (km/h),” Shane Koehler, who works in nearby Nisku, said of the airport overpass on Highway 2.
He said he needs to make the lefthand turn from the Queen Elizabeth II Highway to Airport Road every single day and that he welcomes any improvements.
A little over a year ago, the Edmonton International Airport (EIA) launched a $15 million construction project of which the five-lane overpass is the key upgrade. Once completed, the overhauled overpass will feature a signalized intersection with double left-turning lanes to Nisku where the off-ramp meets Airport Road.
The two lanes to the right will lead to the airport itself while a middle lane will take drivers towards the future site of a massive outlet mall being planned for the area.
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Aside from visiting shoppers, about 1,300 people are expected to eventually be working at the mall and the EIA said it had to take steps to address what it believes will be a surge in traffic in the area.
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“With the addition of the outlet collection, we are trying make sure that we are prepared and we have the roads ready in advance so that that’s going to be an easy traffic flow,” Heather Hamilton, the EIA’s public affairs director, said.
Hamilton added that aside from the increased efficiency and safety of funneling vehicles in and out through a wider overpass, the new traffic signals will also reduce traffic hazards.
“Because there is not or has not been a left turn signal there, people tend to turn right, cut through the 7-11 parking lot in order to u-turn,” she said. “We can see hundreds of cars making that u-turn in the morning. It’s dangerous for pedestrians in that area.”
“When it’s really busy, it gets pretty crazy with what people will try to do just to skip the traffic,” Koehler added.
The upgrades are being paid for exclusively by the EIA which refers to the project as “a reinvestment of non-aeronautical revenue” and note Airport Improvement Fees are not being used to pay for the work.
Hamilton said she believes the cost of the project will be worth it.
“There’s a huge amount of vehicles on that road and this will definitely make it safer and faster for everybody who is using it.”
With the exception of the middle lane intended to funnel drivers through to the future outlet mall, the project is expected to be complete before the end of the year.
-With files from Tom Vernon.
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