It’s caused headaches for drivers for years and now the Alberta government says it is looking at possibly expanding Anthony Henday Drive in southwest Edmonton.
At a media availability on Tuesday morning, Transportation Minister Brian Mason said congestion issues on the busy section of the Edmonton ring road are brought to his attention “fairly regularly.”
“That is something that we’re looking at,” Mason said.
“We are doing the design work on widening the southwest Henday. We know that it’s congested. It’s not currently in the construction plan, but it is something that we’re looking at and proceeding, as I said, with design.”
READ MORE: ‘It’s getting close to full’: Southwest leg of Anthony Henday Drive reaching capacity
As for when the project might be in the province’s construction plan, Mason couldn’t say.
“I would like to see a lot of things in the plan. There’s lots to do in this province, there’s no question. And as we begin growing again, that’s going to remain an important priority.
“So I can’t give you a time. It depends on balancing all the priorities we have with the financial capacity we have.”
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Drivers who use the stretch of the Henday have been calling for its expansion for years. During non-peak hours, traffic moves quickly. But if you hit the morning or afternoon rush, it’s a much different story.
Ward 10 Councillor Michael Walters said while he’s encouraged to hear the province is considering the project, relieving congestion in southwest Edmonton isn’t as easy as expanding roads.
“Building our way out of congestion with roads is something we decided not to do,” he said.
“It has to be the right combination of LRT, smart transit planning and roadway upgrades, such as some of the interchanges that are important in that part of town. So it’s got to be all of those things — it can’t just be expanding the Henday or building a second ring road one day — that’s not where our current vision is heading.”
Walters said the congestion issue comes down to better overall urban planning, which involves designing neighbourhoods with people-friendly transportation systems. He also noted that the city is working to have infrastructure built closer to the time that people are moving into new neighbourhoods.
Watch below: Southwest leg of Anthony Henday too congested, drivers say (filed in October 2014)
The southwest leg of the Edmonton ring road opened in 2006. On a daily basis, the busy stretch sees nearly 80,000 vehicles.