Province to twin Highway 3 near Taber
Premier says $150M project will create 750 jobs, bolster agriculture in region
The provincial government is dedicating $150 million to twin a 46-kilometre stretch of Highway 3 in southern Alberta.
Construction will begin next year to twin the east-west corridor between Taber and Burdett, a hamlet about 300-kilometres southeast of Calgary.
Premier Jason Kenney estimated the project would create about 750 jobs.
It’s part of the government’s $10-billion infrastructure investment announced earlier this week to help revive the provincial economy. Kenney said the investment would create more than 50,000 jobs across the province.
He said the project is also “partly about strengthening the ability of the huge agribusiness sector in this region to move its ever expanding volumes of raw and processed food products to national and international markets.”
The Highway 3 project will take about three years to complete. Kenney said it will make the road safer for nearly 4,000 people who drive that stretch each day.
“We have made a very deliberate choice to expand our capital budget to address the economic crisis that we’re living through because of COVID,” Kenney said Thursday in Taber.
“This came up as an obvious project to move forward on.”
Bill Chapman, president of the Highway 3 Twinning Development Association, said his group has been advocating for the project for nearly two decades.
Highway 3 is a major connector between Saskatchewan and British Columbia, south of the Trans-canada Highway.
Chapman praised the government’s commitment, but said more work would be needed along the rest of Highway 3 in the future.
“Obviously, we do have the rest of the Highway 3 from the Crowsnest Pass right through to Medicine Hat that we want to eventually get done but we’ll take the small steps as they come,” said Chapman, who is also a councillor in Coaldale.
“While a complete project is the ultimate goal, we applaud this endorsement and unanimous support for twinning.”
Chapman said that for every dollar spent by the government on this project, there would be a $3 return on investment.
“This is a busy and important region for Alberta,” said Transportation Minister Ric Mciver.
But he said recent growth in southern Alberta, “which we love and we want,” also puts pressure on local highways.
“Today is an attempt to deal with that,” Mciver said.
Last month, Kenney also announced the UCP government would commit $200 million for upgrades to bridges, roads, community airports and water supplies in rural communities throughout Alberta.
The money will flow to small municipalities through grants, creating upwards of 1,800 jobs in those communities, according to the province.