Weather causes delays in opening of new intersection
Despite some weather delays, Edmonton motorists were able to make it through Bonnie Doon’s newest four-way intersection Friday morning.
The change from a traffic circle to an intersection started Thursday night as Transed continues to work on the Valley Line southeast LRT. Once completed, trains will run along the east side of 85 and 83 Streets and cross 90 Avenue at street level.
Transed spokesman Dean Heuman said Thursday night’s storm caused some delays.
“Mother Nature did not play well with us last night,” he said. “However, we were opened fully around 7:40 a.m. this morning. We had planned to be open for 6 a.m. fully. Super challenge but it was done.”
Heuman said the first phase allows them to start building the track, which is expected to take four to five weeks. Once that’s done, the roadway will go back to two lanes in each direction. The final phase of the intersection is expected to be later this fall.
Heuman said there was some congestion when construction started in the evening but traffic started flowing once everything was fully opened. He added the intersection will be monitored in case any small changes are needed.
“There are some people who are definitely frustrated (and) they want the circle to stay,” he said about the reaction from residents online. “Others (have) said it was a pretty seamless drive through and they appreciate it. So it’s a mixed bag. We thank the public for their patience with these things.”
The biggest change is that motorists approaching on some of the five roads that currently funnel into the traffic circle will not be able to exit in every direction.
For example, motorists heading west on 90 Avenue will no longer be able to access 85 Street south because of the new configuration. Instead, motorists heading west on 90 Avenue who want to get to Bonnie Doon Mall or Whyte Avenue will need to take 83 Street. Motorists will also not be able to go east at 90 Avenue from 83 Street since there’s no right-turns at the corner.
Ward 8 Coun. Ben Henderson said he hasn’t had a chance to go through the intersection yet to see what kind of state it is in, but believes once it is fully functioning, it should work just as well as the traffic circle.
“Traffic circles work well in moderate traffic but it always backed up at peak hours,” he said in an email on Friday. “The intersection should ultimately work better for the major flow of traffic in the peak hours. The downside is that there are a couple of lesser-used turning movements that will no longer be possible the way they worked before, but there are other options for both of those movements that people should be able to figure out once they get used to it.”