Alberta commits $120M to next phase of Terwillegar Drive upgrades in Edmonton
By On-Site Staff
Roads
Premier Kenney and other officials announced the support for the project July 8. PHOTO: Government of Alberta/YouTube
Adding to a weeks-long string of major infrastructure investments, the Alberta government announced July 8 it has set aside $120 million to pay for the next phase of upgrades on Terwillegar Drive in southwest Edmonton.
The project builds on city-led work to convert the busy north/south route into a quasi-expressway with twinned sections of road, but at-grade crossings.
About 40,000 vehicles currently use the road on the average weekday, and Tim Cartmell, Ward 9 councillor for the City of Edmonton, said commuters would welcome the expansion.
“The residents of southwest Edmonton have been waiting for this for over 30 years and I look forward to seeing shovels in the ground on this project in 2021,” Cartmell said in a release.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney joined others at the announcement Wednesday, saying the four-kilometre widening project will help ease gridlock in and out of the city’s southwest side, as well as put Albertans back to work. The $120 million in funding comes from the $10 billion the province has has earmarked to help it recover from COVID-19.
The project covers widening Terwillegar Drive to eight lanes from Rabbit Hill Road to Windermere Boulevard, building a second overpass over Anthony Henday Drive and several intersection upgrades. Transit lanes, as well as a multi-use trail adjacent to the road are included in the plans.
Alberta said the road work would create approximately 865 jobs.
Shovels are being prepped to be in the ground next year, with construction running through 2025.
