Henday relief on the way for southwest commuters
A stretch of Edmonton’s outer ring road that’s more like a parking lot than a freeway at rush hour will be expanded to six lanes from four lanes.
Construction will start in 2019 on the 18-km southwest segment of Anthony Henday Drive, one of the Edmonton region’s most important traffic arteries.
“I’m very well aware of bottlenecks and traffic jams that occur on the segment of the Henday between 111 Street and Whitemud Drive, particularly during rush hour,” said Alberta’s Transportation Minister Brian Mason, announcing the $100-million project on Tuesday. “Budget 2018 includes the required funding to alleviate this problem.”
Design work is underway and construction is expected to take three years.
“Once the widening is complete, free flow travel on Edmonton’s 80-kilometre ring road will be even more efficient,” Mason said.
The Henday was built to carry about 40,000 vehicles a day, a traffic volume originally expected to be reached by 2020.
But in that fast-growing part of the city the roadway reached capacity by 2009. Today, the Henday carries about 80,000 vehicles a day.
Officials said the expansion to six lanes, three in each direction, will increase the volume to about 120,000 vehicles a day.
That is because growth was concentrated in that area and not spread around as projected, said Bill van der Meer, urban construction manager with the city’s major capital projects branch.
Ward 9 Coun. Tim Cartmell said the southwest corner of the city has seen significant growth over the past 10 years.
The road being designed now has a lifespan of about 20 years, and there’s room for future widening, van der Meer said.
Mayor Don Iveson said Monday completing the Henday has made a huge difference to commuters and goods movement.
“But with all freeways, they tend to become their own worst enemy and attract a lot more traffic,” he said. “We know we’re going to need to supplement that with better transit service and more transportation alternatives.”
Mason said easing traffic congestion in and around major urban areas is about much more than mere conveniences, it’s about quality of life.
“Spending less time in traffic reduces frustration, it means more time for our family, more time for our own pursuits and enhances quality of life for Edmontonians,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of the Henday as a commercial traffic corridor.
It’s a vital component of Alberta’s commercial transportation network, he said.
It’s one portion of the Canmex trade corridor stretching four lanes or more from just past Grande Prairie to Arizona in the United States and ultimately to Mexico.
Commercial carriers, Mason
said, rely on the Henday as a connector between the Yellowhead Highway to the west and QEII to the south.
“The southwest Henday gives carriers access to the intermodal terminal in northwest Edmonton. Expansion of the Henday will save valuable time for the movement of goods and services to and from the Edmonton region,” he said.
“We’re improving and building our transportation network to support an economic recovery that’s built to last.”