City expecting busy road construction season; spending could be more

Calgary could be awash in brightly coloured vests and orange pylons this summer if officials can get through their ambitious list of projects.

There is a long catalogue of infrastructure projects that will either be wrapping up or that will be getting started as crews take advantage of infrastructure dollars.

“Calgarians can expect us to continue with the work we started last year,” said Director of Transportation Infrastructure Michael Thompson. “It’s a big year for us, as we’re going to be opening three new interchanges.

“Up in the northwest, the Trans-Canada Highway and Bowfort Road interchange will be opening. In the fall we’ll be opening up the Glenmore Trail and Ogden Road interchange out in the southeast and down south, we’ll be opening up the Macleod Trail/162nd Avenue interchange this year.

“We’re always building detours for our projects, because one of our big goals is to keep Calgarians moving. As we’ve seen on the projects that have been under construction, traffic is moving great through them and we’re really happy with the way that’s moving.”

Thompson added there could be a few delays out of their control and appreciate drivers’ patience behind the wheel.

Last year, $1.6 billion was spent on infrastructure and Thompson called this an above average year and hopes they’ll hit, if not surpass that figure by year’s end.

It’s still unclear how much of that will be spent on roads; they’re still fleshing out that figure.

“We’re getting great pricing right now with the economy being a bit down, so we’re taking advantage of that and getting out and working on more projects to really help create some jobs and stimulate the economy.

“The projects that we’re delivering are about moving Calgarians. It’s really about providing all modes of transportation, not just driving, also cycling, walking and transit, so we’re looking at building all modes of infrastructure to support mobility across the city.”

Projects completing in 2017
1. 1 Street S.W., between 13 and 17 Avenue- sidewalk and road improvements (COMPLETE FALL)
2. 4 Street S.W. Underpass- sidewalk improvements (COMPLETE FALL)
3. 12 Street S.E. Bridge, over Bow River- replacing (OPEN FALL)
4. 16 Avenue/29 Street N.W. Intersection- turning and road improvements (COMPLETE September)
5. 16 Avenue/Home Rd N.W. Intersection- sidewalk and road improvements (COMPLETE September)
6. 61 Avenue S.W., Macleod Trail to LRT station- sidewalk and road improvements (COMPLETE July)
7. Glenmore Trail/Ogden Road S.E. Interchange (OPEN Summer)
8. Macleod Trail/162 Avenue S.E. Interchange (OPEN September)
9. Stoney Trail & Sarcee Trail/112 Avenue N.W. area- interchange and road improvements (COMPLETE June)
10. Trans-Canada Highway/Bowfort Road Interchange (OPEN July)

Projects starting in 2017
Transit
1. BRT (all four Rapid Bus Transit projects)
a. 17 Avenue S.E. BRT (International Avenue over Deerfoot to Inglewood)
b. North Crosstown (Saddletown LRT Station to University of Calgary)
c. South Crosstown (Westbrook LRT Station to Seton)
d. SW BRT (downtown to Anderson Road/Woodbine)- north section, from downtown to MRU
2. Green Line preliminary work- moving utilities, preparing space for the future LRT, improving transit service

Driving, walking and cycling
1. 90 Avenue S.W. and Southland Drive to SW Ring Road- extending
2. 162 Avenue S.W. to SW Ring Road- extending (COMPLETE in fall 2017)
3. 194 Avenue S. to Macleod Trail, west side- extending
4. Anderson Road, SW Ring Road to Elbow Drive- widening
5. Bow Trail, 85 Street S.W. to Old Banff Coach Road- widening
6. Bowness Road- road improvements for walking, cycling and driving (COMPLETE in fall 2017)
7. Crowchild Trail, over Bow River- widening
8. East Central bike lanes: Mayland Heights, Marlborough, Cross Roads, Penbrooke and Forest Lawn- (COMPLETE in fall 2017)
9. Northmount Drive- improvements for walking, cycling and driving (COMPLETE in fall 2017)
10. Spruce Meadows Way, from SW Ring Road to 194 Avenue S.W.- widening (COMPLETE in fall 2017)

Project continuing in 2017
1. 17 Avenue S.W., between Macleod Trail and 14 Street- road and sidewalk improvements
2. Stoney Compressed Natural Gas Bus Storage and Transit facility- construction
3. Trans-Canada Highway/Sarcee Trail Interchange- road improvements