With a cost of $1.2 billion, residents in southwest Edmonton likely won’t see Terwillegar Drive converted into a freeway anytime soon.
A report headed to a city committee next week outlined preliminary proposals to upgrade the busy roadway south to Anthony Henday Drive.
The report lays out two options to improve traffic flow, the first of which would convert Terwillegar Drive into a freeway. The $1.2-billion conversion would provide access for drivers south of Whitemud Drive, but wouldn’t allow access into the Riverbend and Terwillegar communities.
Because of the price tag for the massive freeway conversion, Mayor Don Iveson isn’t convinced it’s the best option.
“A billion dollars to fix it all in one shot is probably a tough sell,” Iveson said.
“The Yellowhead, at least we had grants from the feds and the province to help with. On Terwillegar, there aren’t any programs that are an obvious fit for it. So we’re going to have to take it down systematically, kind of one improvement at a time probably.”
The second option outlined by administration is a $300-million expressway, which would see eight lanes of traffic: three for cars and one for buses in each direction.
Active transportation would also be part of the expressway option, but there would also be several traffic lights along the way. The plan is expected to improve traffic flow through the year 2030, but with continued growth, drivers would soon find themselves in the same situation.
“We know that it’s going to require investment,” Iveson said. “We know that investment is important for the whole city so even though I’ve been talking about different ways that we pay for some kinds of infrastructure, clearly we’re going to need invest, and all invest, in Terwillegar because it’s a pinch-point for not just the southwest but the whole city and there’s some serious safety issues.”
Iveson said the city will likely have to look at improvements to Terwillegar Drive one at a time.
The first pinch point expected to be dealt with is the stop light at 40 Avenue, about a kilometre south of the Whitemud.
Other options include adding extra travel lanes for transit, because that cost can be passed on, so it’s not just the city taxpayer picking up the tab, according to Iveson.
“We could use a bit of general transit grant money maybe to provide an extra lane where the bus can get past a traffic jam at a turning signal or something like that. So that would help but it doesn’t fundamentally change the game,” Iveson said.
Local residents have said the improvements are decades overdue. In the spring, area Councillor Tim Cartmell had a motion passed unanimously by council to look at improvements to Terwillegar Drive.
The report, which heads to committee for debate on Oct. 2, will be the basis of early budget decisions later this fall.
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