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TUESDAY MAY 21ST:

Til 5 AM in the SE 3rd Street is closed between 6th and 9th Avenue.

Til 5 AM on 9th Ave between 14th Street SW and 3rd Street SE there will be various lane closures with the road down to a single lane where crews are working.

From 5 AM – 6 PM in the NW, on Bowness Road at 16th Avenue, the RHL’s are shut down each way.  That goes daily thru Tuesday (May 21st).

At 7 AM in the NE on Airport Trail at 19th Street the EB RHL is closed and the speed limit is down to 50 km/h.  This goes until Saturday (May 25) 6 PM.

At 8 AM downtown  in the SW, 4th Street is closed between 3rd & 4th Avenues.  That area’s off-limits until Friday (May 24th) at 6 PM.

At 8 AM in the NW Brentwood Blvd. between Branford Drive and Bell Street is down to one lane in both directions. That stays skinny until Friday (May 24) at 6 PM

From 8 AM – 3 PM in the NW, on 16th Avenue west of Sarcee Trail, the WB RHL is shut down and the speed limit is down to 60 km/h.    That work continues 6 days a week until mid-June.

At 9 AM in the NW on 16th Ave east of Crowchild Trail the EB RHL is closed and the speed limit is restricted to 50 km/h. This goes until Friday (May 24) at 6 PM.

From 9 AM – 3 PM in the NW, on 16th Avenue between 14th & Centre Streets, lane closures rotate along EB 16th Ave.

From 9 AM – 3 PM in the NW, on 16th Avenue at 29th Street, the EB RHL is closed and speeds are squished to 50 km/h.  That repeats tomorrow & Thursday.

From 9 AM – 3 PM in the NW, at 10th Street & 2nd Avenue, the NB RHL is blocked off on 10th, and the EB lanes are closed on 2nd Ave.  That continues daily thru Saturday (May 25th).

From 9 AM – 3 PM in the SE, on 90th Avenue west of 52nd Street, the WB RHL on is closed.

From 9 AM – 3 PM in the SE on 52nd Street south of 90th Avenue the NB RHL is closed.  That goes 9-3 again tomorrow. (Wednesday)

From 9 AM – 3 PM in the SE, at Highway 22-X & 88th Street, Stoney Trail construction leads to delays in the area with trucks coming-and-going from the worksite, and speed limits in the area are knocked down to 50 km/h.  Flag people are directing traffic thru the zone, and the slowdowns continue from 9-3 daily thru Friday (May 24th).

From 9 AM – 3 PM in the NE, on 52nd Street at 16th Avenue, the RHL’s are shut down in either direction. That goes daily thru Friday (May 24th).

From 9 AM – 6 PM in the NW, on 10th Street from 5th to 3rd Avenues, the SB RHL is closed.  That runs daily thru Saturday June 1st.

From 9 AM – 6 PM in the NW, on 16th Avenue at Crowchild Trail, the EB RHL is closed and the speed limit is down to 50 km/h.  That runs from 9-6 daily thru Friday (May 24th).

From 10 AM – 6 PM in the NW, on 16th Avenue between Bowness Road & Shaganappi Trail, the EB LHL is closed and speeds are down to 50 km/h.   That kicks in from 10-6 again tomorrow & Thursday.

From 6 o’clock tonight til 5 AM tomorrow in the NW, on Bowness Road at 16th Avenue, just 1 lane squeaks thru each way.   That continues overnights thru Thursday night / Friday morning.

From 6 PM til 6 AM tomorrow in the SE on Centre Street between 9th and 8th Avenue the NB RHL is closed.

From 7 PM tonight til 5 AM tomorrow on 9th Ave between 14th Street SW and 3rd Street SE there will be various lane closures with the road down to a single lane where crews are working.

At 7 PM in the SE, Mumford & Sons are playing live in the Saddledome so there’ll be a lot of extra vehicle & pedestrian traffic in the area before the curtain goes up, and that’ll repeat when it’s over around 10 / 10:30 PM.

NEWS, NEW CLOSURES & MAJOR ONGOING SLOWDOWNS:

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SOUTHWEST:

Downtown in the SW, on 7th Street from 4th to 8th Avenues, the LHL is closed.  The work that will see a bicycle-only lane installed on that stretch on 7th, keeps the LHL blocked off until Sunday June 2nd.

In the SW, 13th Avenue is closed between 2nd & 4th Streets.  That’ll go until sometime in June as the ’13th Avenue Heritage Greenway’ project takes shape.

Downtown in the SW, on 2nd Street from 2nd to 3rd Avenue, only a single lane gets thru in both directions.  That runs until close to the end of the year.

Downtown in the SW, with construction in high gear on the West Tower of 8th Avenue Place, on (well, duh.. ) 8th Avenue between 4th & 5th Streets, just 1 lane is open in each direction.  That narrowing will continue until the project’s complete — which might be until sometime in 2015.

SOUTHEAST:

In the SE, on Macleod Trail at 210th Avenue, the NB RHL is shut down, and the LH turn-bay from SB Macleod onto EB 210th is narrowed to 1 lane.  That stays in place til the end of May.

In the SE, on 68th Street between 106th & 108th Avenue, drivers use a temporary road east of the existing street.  That stays in place til Friday May 31st at 7 PM.

In the SE, on 52nd Street at 126th Avenue, just a single lane gets thru in either direction, and no LH turns are allowed.   Utility work will keep that narrowing in place until early June.

In the SE, on 52nd Street between Erin Woods Drive & 50th Avenue, the speed limit is down to 50 km/h and construction closures come-and-go in both directions.  That’ll keep things slow until late spring or early summer.

In the SE, the trial period of an experiment at Macleod Trail & Lake Fraser Gate has ended, but the situation remains the same.   So, while data is tabulated, on weekdays from 6 – 8:30 AM no LH turns from Lake Fraser onto Macleod, are allowed.

In the SE, a large number of roads are affected by Stoney Trail construction.
For a look at some of the major tie-ups, check out the update section further down this construction file.
The SE leg of Stoney Trail is expected to open in the fall.

Downtown in the SE, East Village construction has 7th Avenue shut down between 6th & 7th Streets.. and 5th Street is closed from 6th to 8th Avenue.  Both closures continue until sometime early in 2014.

NORTHWEST:

In the NW, Sage Hill Drive is closed to all traffic from Symons Valley Road to Sage Hill Blvd.  That shutdown runs until mid-June.  Drivers are re-routed to 144th Avenue.

In the NW, on 16th Avenue over top of Shaganappi Trail and Bowness Road, bridge rehabilitation has started up in again.   Work on both bridges on 16th Ave will go — for the most part — outside peak-periods, while there will also be some narrowings and lane closures on Bowness & Shaganappi..again, outside the rush-hours.   If the weather cooperates, it should wrap by the end of June.

In the NW, on Crowchild Trail at Stoney Trail, LRT construction has the EB LHL shut down, with speed limits knocked down to 60 km/h.  That continues until late July.
And, speed limits are also squished to 60 km/h on weekdays in that area on WB Crow.

In the NW, on Nose Hill Drive at Stoney Trail, drivers are being re-routed along Bearspaw Dam Road.
That detour will be in place til the interchange at Stoney & Nose Hill opens in the fall.

NORTHEAST:

In the NE, on Airport Trail west of Barlow Trail, just a single WB lane is open and speeds are down to 50 km/h.  That continues until the end of May.

In the NE, 6th Street is closed to all traffic from McDougall Road to Centre Avenue.  That goes until Friday May 31st.

In the NE, on Metis Trail south of Country Hills Blvd, speed limits are down to 50 km/h until early August.

Work is underway on the Palmer Bridge over Nose Creek, on McKnight Blvd between Edmonton Trail & Deerfoot Trail. Lane closures and slowdowns in the vicinity will go ‘outside peak hours” until sometime in September.

In the NE, on 36th Street between 80th Avenue & Country Hills Blvd, the road is closed to all traffic.  That goes until approximately the end of August so Metis or Deerfoot Trails are possible alternates. The closure is so crews can expand 36th from 2 to 4 lanes, and tie in connections to Airport Trail.

In the NE, work is continuing on Airport Trail / 96th Avenue.  Eventually that above-ground section of the road will run from Harvest Hills Blvd to Deerfoot Trail, although it was originally slated to open last fall.  But, problems with construction affecting all 4 of the overpasses along that span have pushed the opening back, and the best-case scenario will now have a single lane open each way by July.
However, while the road will eventually have 3 lanes running in either direction, with these delays it’s unlikely it’ll be fully open until late 2013, or early 2014.

In the NE, pouring of the Airport Trail tunnel between 36th Street & Airport Trail was completed at the end of October.  It runs under the new runway at YYC that’s also currently under construction.  Right now, the scheduled opening of that new tunneled stretch of Airport Trail is May 2014.

HIGHWAYS:

For reports on current conditions in the province, check 511 Alberta:

http://511.alberta.ca

And to see what’s happening in British Columbia, Drive BC’s site is:

http://www.drivebc.com

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BRIDGE WORK IS MANGLING MCKNIGHT:

Work is going on the Palmer Bridge on McKnight Blvd between Edmonton Trail & Deerfoot Trail.

An extension of the LH turn-bay from WB McKnight onto SB Edmonton Trail, the installation of new barriers, and some other improvements lead to lane closures and slowdowns in the vicinity until sometime in September.

Reps say that 2 lanes will stay open in each direction on McKnight Blvd during ‘peak hours’.
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YOUR CROTCH COULD KILL YOU!

To highlight the dangers of distracted driving, the province has launched an awareness campaign that includes a billboard saying ‘Crotches Kill’.
It’s meant to remind drivers their eyes should be up and on the road, and not looking down into their laps while texting.

Another element in the blitz is a talking urinal puck — of course those are found in men’s washrooms (and not in extremely well-appointed vehicles) — and again, drive home the message to a captive audience.

As well, police are cracking down on distracted driving with a STEP — a Selected Traffic Enforcement Program.  They’re seeing some drivers reverting and using hand-held phones, texting, or — seriously — even playing musical instruments behind the wheel.  A distracted driving ticket will get their attention, with a $172 fine.
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THE CITY WILL SWEEP YOU OFF YOUR STREET:

City of Calgary neighbourhood street-sweeping is slated to start next Monday (April 15th, although some crews may be out earlier on warm days to try to get a head-start on cleaning up 15,000 klicks of road.

To find out when your community gets the brush-off, check calgary.ca/sweep, or call 311.

The City’s trotted out an interesting stat — if all the gravel & dirt they pick up was put on the field at McMahon Stadium, it would be buried in 12 feet of debris.

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STONEY TRAIL WORK IS ‘RAMPING’ UP:

In the SE, at Deerfoot Trail & Highway 22-X, Stoney Trail construction leads to changes in traffic flow.
That has drivers heading from NB Deerfoot to both EB & WB 22-X using new ramps.  On top of that, a new set of traffic signals is set up at the intersection.
All the changes will stay in place until the summer.

In the SE, a change on 88th Street — the extension of 84th Street.. with the Stoney Trail project permanently closing 88th north of Highway 22-X.
With crews working on the Stoney Trail interchange at that intersection, NB drivers on 88th Street are detoured onto EB or WB 22-X.. while SB traffic is re-routed onto 146th Avenue & 104th Street to access the highway — and EB & WB drivers on Highway 22-X also have to use 146th & 104th to get onto 88th Street.
And, trucks trying to get onto 88 Street SE north of Highway 22X must use designated truck routes marked on Deerfoot Trail, Barlow Trail and 114th Avenue.
The new interchange in that area isn’t slated to go into action until late this year.

Just an FYI — the SE leg of Stoney Trail will connect to the existing segment at 17th Avenue and run close to the eastern city limits, then turn along Highway 22-X to just east of the Macleod Trail interchange.
That’s expected to go into action by the fall.

And, in the NW, traffic is now free-flowing on Stoney Trail at Nose Hill Drive.  The traffic lights at that intersection have been taken out and there are no signals on Stoney from 16th Ave NW all the way thru to 17th Ave SE.   Meanwhile, drivers on Nose Hill will get thru Stoney after being re-routed along Bearspaw Dam Road.
That detour will be in place til the interchange at Stoney Trail & Nose Hill Drive opens in the fall.
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BIKE LANES ARE BEING BUILT IN THE CORE:

Work has begun on a downtown bicycle-only lane that’ll run along 7th Street SW.

The dedicated bike lane will run between 8th Avenue and the Bow River pathway, and riders will be protected by a meter-high cement barricade between the bicycle & motorized-vehicle lanes.

Riders are excited about the idea, but local business owners have some reservations since the plan will eliminate a driving lane, and about 35 parking spots in the area.

Still, work’s already underway and the plan is to have the bike-only section of 7th from the Peace Bridge to 8th Ave open by July.

Eventually, more bike-only lanes are expected to open in other areas throughout downtown.
The City will unveil some of those proposed routes in December.
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EXTREME MAKEOVER: UNDERPASS EDITION

A downtown underpass beneath the CPR railway line is being described as ‘unsafe’ and ‘dodgy’.

So, plans are to renovate that site on 1st Street SW between 9th & 10th Avenues near the Palliser Hotel which was originally built in 1908, since it’s dimly lit, crumbling, and generally gives pedestrians..the creeps.

With many walkers dreading using the underpass between downtown and the Beltine — especially at night — eventually it’ll be revamped and made more people-friendly with more lights and wider sidewalks.   And, the road will also be renovated to make it a better place to drive thru as well.

There’s no word on when that work will begin but it’s in the planning stages, while other railway underpasses along the line at 4th & 8th Streets SW may also eventually be brightened up.
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CALGARY’S MOST DANGEROUS INTERSECTIONS:

A study by Transport Canada says Calgary has 2 of the 5 most dangerous intersections in the country.
Both are on Deerfoot Trail — finishing in 2nd place nationally was the junction at 16th Avenue, while Deerfoot & Glenmore Trail came in 5th overall.

Reps with the City say they’re talking with the provincial government about what can be done to improve Deerfoot safety in general, but so far nothing immediate is planned.

In case you’re wondering, an intersection in Vancouver was named the most dangerous overall, while 2 in Winnipeg were named the 3rd & 4th most dangerous in Canada.
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AFTERNOONS ARE TWICE AS PERILOUS AS MORNINGS:

A study shows that more than 2 times as many drivers are hospitalized after a serious accident in the afternoon & evening.. than after crashing in the morning.

Last year, nearly 4000 Canadians wound up being doctored and nursed after crashing between 4 PM & Midnight, while only 1800 went to hospital after a smashup from Midnight to 8 AM.

Experts with the Canadian Institute for Health Information speculate that toward the end of the day drivers are tired after working for hours and hours, while they’re also in more of a rush to run errands or get home.

Perhaps due to a week’s worth of fatigue along with distractions caused by weekend planning, Friday afternoon is the most accident-plagued time of the week.
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