LRT work expected to snarl Argyll Road

Motorists on Argyll Road could face major traffic jams created by the southeast LRT line, the project manager warned Tuesday.

Planners predict congestion for people turning north from Argyll on to 83rd Street, which loses half its driving lanes to tracks up to 82nd Avenue, Brad Smid said.

“We’re taking over two lanes of traffic to put in the LRT. That was council’s direction … to utilize existing rights-of-way rather than buy more properties,” he said. “We see in the traffic modelling big backups on Argyll. … It’s just a model. People will look for alternate routes when we get into construction and operation.”

He didn’t know how long the lineups might be.

Smid expects this corner will be the worst tie-up created by the 13-kilometre Valley Line to Mill Woods, with no major delays between Argyll and 82nd Avenue.

Some vehicles will be lured away to 75th Street, which is being widened for the LRT between Whitemud Drive and Wagner Road, or other routes, he said.

There will be disruption downtown on 102nd Avenue, which is being reduced to one driving lane to make room for tracks and a bicycle lane.

However, congestion should be mitigated by the continued expansion of the LRT system and an increasingly walkable city centre, Smid said.

“We’re seeing reductions in long-term traffic, so it doesn’t appear to be a major issue in the modelling we have done for downtown,” he said.

“There will be an impact, obviously, when you take all that traffic off 102nd Avenue (and) all the buses will have to move to Jasper Avenue.”

Coun. Amarjeet Sohi said the LRT is still the best way to move people around Edmonton. “Once construction is completed, the LRT will actually provide some relief to the congestion in the southeast,” he said.

City council will discuss giving final approval April 15 to the $1.8-billion project.

Construction is scheduled to start in 2016, with the line going into operation by the end of 2020.