Major Deerfoot Trail upgrades afoot

Travel on Calgary’s Deerfoot Trail might get easier yet. The provincial government is targeting key bottlenecks on the roadway between Glenmore Trail and Anderson Road/Bow Bottom Trail with a plan to add more lanes and improve several key interchanges.

Targets of the Deerfoot Trail expansion project include the Bow Bottom Trail and Anderson Road, and Southland Drive and Glenmore Trail interchanges, seven new bridge structures at Anderson Road and Bow Bottom Trail, Bow River, Southland Drive and Glenmore Trail, and the addition of more lanes along the highway and through the Anderson Road/Bow Bottom Trails and Glenmore Trail Interchanges.

“Improving Deerfoot Trail will make the commutes of Calgarians easier, safer and faster,” explained Alberta Premier, Danielle Smith. “These upgrades are overdue and I’m so pleased to see the request for proposals move forward.”

Improvements to this section of Deerfoot Trail are expected to reduce driver commutes by about 15 per cent during peak morning travel hours and by about 22 per cent during peak evening travel hours.

“Nearly 200,000 Calgarians use Deerfoot Trail every single day to get to work, school or to their recreational activities,” stated Tanya Fir, MLA for Calgary-Peigan. “These intersection upgrades and roadway expansions will mean improved traffic flow and reduced travel times for drivers..”

The contract is expected to be awarded in spring 2023, with construction to begin in 2023 and be completed in 2027.

www.alberta.ca