After several closures last fall, drivers in southwest Edmonton will once again encounter weekend lane closures on the bridge crossing Anthony Henday Drive this month.
Construction has been ongoing since 2020 to widen each bridge deck from two to three lanes of traffic, as part of the overall much-needed widening of the southwest leg of the ring road.
The weekend closures are in place as crews continue to place girders and a base for the third lane, Alberta Transportation said on Wednesday.
The project is a year behind schedule but the province said the bridge work should be complete by mid-July and the entire southwest Henday widening project — from Gateway Boulevard to Whitemud Drive — is on track to be complete by September.
Alberta Transportation said the westbound bridge over the North Saskatchewan River will be closed:
- Friday, June 9 from 8 p.m. until Monday, June 12 at 6 a.m.
- Friday, June 16 from 8 p.m. until Monday, June 19 at 6 a.m.
Those dates are subject to change in the event of inclement weather, the province said.
The province said there will be a longer closure of both bridges starting later this month and continuing until mid-July for the decks to be installed.
During the upcoming closures, traffic will be re-routed to the eastbound bridge, flowing one lane in each direction, and the speed limit will be reduced to 60 km/hour. That is expected to cause significant delays on the freeway and drivers in the city are advised to take other routes such as Whitemud Drive.
Oversized and overweight trucker loads will not be permitted to use the Henday during the weekend closures, the province said.
Those looking to bypass the city can also take Highway 60 through Devon, although similar bridge deck rehabilitation work has been ongoing there since last summer as well, and one of those bridges is also flowing in one lane of traffic in each direction.
Similar closures happened last September through November.
The Henday was originally designed to meet traffic capacity requirements through 2020 with a plan to accommodate up to 40,000 vehicles per day.
That initial capacity in southwest Edmonton was surpassed in 2009 and by 2020, traffic volumes averaged 80,000 vehicles per day, according to Carmacks, the construction contractor working on the expansion.
Work to expand an 18-kilometre stretch between 111 Street and Whitemud Drive began in 2020.
Adding an extra lane in each direction is expected to accommodate up to 120,000 vehicles per day.
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