Nineteen kilometres of Highway 40 south of Grande Prairie will be twinned, the Alberta government announced Friday.
The twinned portion of the road will extend south of the Wapiti River. The project also includes a second bridge across the Wapiti River with a pedestrian walkway, intersection improvements and new traffic signals. Lighting along the stretch of highway will also be upgraded to LED.
Every day, more than 10,000 vehicles travel along the section of Highway 40 that is to be twinned, the province said.
The government also announced Friday it will build a new interchange at the intersection of Highway 43 and Highway 43X, following the scheduled opening of the new Grande Prairie bypass in the summer of 2019.
Highway 43 sees, on average, about 27,000 vehicles per day.
Premier Rachel Notley said when the bypass opens next year, it will initially act as a signalized intersection with Highway 43 at the west end of Grande Prairie.
“People have told us that this intersection needs to be safer and we’ve got to address the bottlenecks,” she said. “The bypass will reduce congestion and enhance safety on highways, as well as on local roads,” Notley said.
Mayor Bill Given welcomed the news, saying the region has been pushing for the projects.
“The Grande Prairie area is expected to double in population over the next 20 years and so, in addition to making roads safer, these projects will support job creation and recognize the growing contribution our area makes to the Alberta economy.”
The province said the projects will create more than 700 direct and indirect jobs in the region.
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