CALGARY- Drivers who use Highway 22X for their daily commute are being warned about some impending, major delays.
Starting on Wednesday, the roadway will consist of only two lanes—one each direction—so that crews can pour concrete for a new bridge deck. The good news for drivers is that the closures won’t be in effect during rush hour.
The province didn’t want to tie up traffic during the busy work week, but due to a couple of cold weekends they weren’t given a choice.
“We can’t do this work when the air temperature is cold, so we got a good forecast for a couple of days and a window of opportunity,” explains Alberta transportation manager Garry Lamb. “We think we can accomplish this without impacting the travelling public significantly.”
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The new bridge is 135 metres long and 16 meters wide, so the pour will take place all day Wednesday and Thursday. The work needs to be done now so the southeast leg of Stoney Trail can be completed on time.
“One of the key elements of the project is this bridge has to be put in service this summer to allow other work on the project to progress,” says Lamb. “It’s part of the ultimate interchange, but also used as part of the detouring of traffic as other elements of this interchange are built and constructed.”
While acknowledging that the project needs to get underway, councillor Shane Keating says southeast residents are sick of the dust and traffic tie-ups they’ve been experiencing for nearly three years.
“We are going to wait and see,” he says. “Is it going to elevate congestion? I don’t think so. I think the issue is we have to get Stoney Trail open, the second part we have to get transit into the southeast.”
The Stoney Trail extension is set to be completed by October 1.
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