Alberta awards contract for final $277M segment of Calgary Ring Road
By David Kennedy
ConstructionThe final piece of the beltway project includes five kilometres of new highway, seven bridges and four interchanges
A years-long project to encircle Calgary is nearing completion.
Last week, the Alberta government handed down the final construction contract for the Calgary Ring Road, awarding the $277 million project to the Calgary Safelink Partners, made up of Carmacks Enterprises Ltd., Graham Infrastructure and Vinci Infrastructure Canada Ltd.
The last link in 101-kilometre Highway 201, or Stoney Trail, covers five kilometres of six- and eight-lane highway between Old Banff Coach Road and Highway 8 on the west end of the city.
“The ring road is a critical project that has been years in the making and Calgarians have been waiting decades for it to be completed, Ric McIver, the province’s Minister of Transportation, said in a release. “When construction wraps up, the ring road will provide more than 100 kilometres of free-flow travel, making it faster and easier for Calgarians and job creators to get around Alberta’s largest city.”
The Safelink consortium will take on the design-build contract for what’s known as the “south” portion of the West Calgary Ring Road. Along with the five kilometres of highway work, the final component of the new highway includes the construction of seven bridges and four interchanges.
Construction on the two other projects that make up the western segment of the beltway are already underway. Work is also nearing completion on the $1.4 billion Southwest Calgary Ring Road after more than three years of construction.
Shovel are scheduled to hit the dirt this summer on the final leg of highway. Crews will be aiming to complete the work and have the entire ring road open by 2024.