A deadly intersection west of Edmonton will be moved as part of Alberta’s 2023 budget, which will also fund the construction of an overpass at a busy rail crossing in Atcheson.
For years, Parkland County residents have been calling for changes to the intersection of Highway 16A and Range Road 20, located west of Stony Plain.
“It’s been a long wait,” said Bryan Kwasnycia. His daughter Jade, 22, died in a collision at the intersection last August.
Kwasnycia said he’s been in contact with families of other people killed or injured in the area who are happy the changes are coming.
“I talked with one family yesterday and their daughter, when she was young, was paralyzed at that intersection in a motorcycle accident,” he said.
“She’s lived her entire life that way, so it’s critical this happens.”
Kwasnycia said he wishes this change could have happened sooner.
“It kind of makes you wonder, ‘Why was it my daughter that had to be the one to hit the news, to make the changes, when the change should have been done 20 years ago?’” he said.
“You have a little bit of guilt there… it’s frustrating.”
Alberta RCMP told Global News there have been 39 collisions at the intersection since 2019, a number that is too high, according to Parkland County mayor Allan Gamble.
“There have already been too many heartbreaking fatalities at this dangerous intersection and we loudly advocated on behalf of our residents for this concern to be addressed,” said Gamble.
Currently, Highway 16A bends around a corner and has a speed limit of 100 km/h where it meets with Range Road 20 near Stony Plain.
Shane Getson, MLA for Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland, said $22 million from the 2023 budget will be spent to move the intersection down the road, where there are better sightlines.
“The crossing on those two highways would occur further east where there’s a flat area where you have a really good line of sight down there, so it mitigates the grade issues,” said Getson.
Highway 60 overpass being built over CN mainline in Acheson
This move is part of $8 billion announced as part of Alberta’s budget for highways and economic corridors.
In Acheson, also in Parkland County, the stretch of Highway 60 between Highway 16a and the Yellowhead that isn’t twinned will be, and an overpass will be built over the CN mainline that intersects with the road.
“We have been advocating hard for twinning and rail grade separation for Highway 60,” Gamble said. Parkland County has been pushing for it since the 1980s.
As of 2019, about 15,000 vehicles used that stretch of highway through the Acheson Industrial Park and upwards of 50 trains crossed the highway each day.
The industrial area has seen massive growth in the past decade, especially south of Highway 16a, on land that used to be farm fields to the north of Enoch Cree First Nation.
Work to begin the grade separation began in 2019 under the previous NDP government.
“The twinning and overpass will create a safer route for employees, travellers and business owners who are passing through this stretch of road every day,” said Colin Tooth, member and past chair of the Acheson Business Association board of directors.
The budget includes $1.7 billion to maintain and renew existing roads and bridges and almost $4 billion in capital grants to municipalities, including funding for LRT projects in Calgary and Edmonton.
The ring road in Calgary and Anthony Henday Drive in Edmonton will receive funding, along with twinning projects for Highways 3 and 11.
The province added the interchange at Highway 2 and Highway 556 in Balzac will be replaced.
Also in the funding announcement was that the Vinca Bridge on Highway 38 near Redwater will be replaced.
The province is also providing $117 million over three years for the twinning of Highway 63 north of Fort McMurray. The route sees many oversize and overweight vehicles transporting goods for the energy sector, the province said.
The budget includes $1.7 billion to maintain and renew existing roads and bridges and almost $4 billion in capital grants to municipalities, including funding for LRT projects in Calgary and Edmonton.