Alberta cancels Deerfoot Trail public-private partnership, citing inflation

A plan to use a public-private partnership, also known as a P3, to improve Calgary’s Deerfoot Trail has fallen through, according to the province.

A statement from Minister of Transportation Prasad Panda on Tuesday said a P3 approach to the project was “not economically viable.”

“Current economic conditions have resulted in pricing volatility and historically high inflation in the construction industry,” a statement from the minister said.

“We committed that we would only pursue P3s when we found value for taxpayer money.”

The statement said the province cancelled the P3 approach and will procure improvements to the roadway in smaller pieces.

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The Official Opposition called the cancellation “good news for Calgarians,” adding using a P3 for the Deerfoot Trail upgrades a “bad idea.”

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“Students and families using the disastrous P3 schools in Edmonton could have told Minister Prasad Panda that fact as they struggle with dangerously poor site drainage and runaway HVAC systems which the school staff aren’t allowed to operate,” Lorne Dach, MLA for Edmonton-McClung, said in a statement, adding projects built by an NDP government will always be accountable to taxpayers.

“The UCP should immediately drop the P3 approach from all projects they are pursuing for schools and hospitals and road improvement.”

In May 2021, the province opened the request for qualification process, expecting to announce a proponent in July 2022 and begin construction this fall. That construction was expected to last about four years.

Improvements slated to be part of the P3 project included:

• twinning the Ivor Strong Bridge
• reconfiguring the Anderson Road/Bow Bottom Trail interchange
• twinning the bridge over the Glenmore Trail interchange
• reconfiguring the 17 Avenue S.E. and Memorial Drive interchanges
• widening Deerfoot Trail between 17 Avenue S.E. and Airport Trail

With the P3 cancelled, Panda said work is now underway “to identify the most critical areas for improvement that can be tendered and completed as quickly as possible,” part of the commitment to improving the provincial highway that runs through the city.

Approximately 180,000 vehicles use Deerfoot Trail per day.