Oil Sands

We all know what it’s like to be stuck in traffic. It is one of the most frustrating parts of driving. All we wish for when sitting in our cars is a well designed road that it is going to get us where we need to be efficiently and quickly. Well, this is no longer a dream for folks in the capital region because the final leg of Edmonton’s ring road was officially given the green light at an event in Fort Saskatchewan last week, where Premier Ed Stelmach was joined by Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette at the annual meeting of the chamber of commerce.

“You can have abundant resources, as we do in Alberta and make great products, as Alberta companies do, but you must also be able to move your products where they need to go, when they need to get there,” Stelmach said.

The announcement launches the final stage of construction on the northeast section of Edmonton’s ring road connecting Whitemud Drive East to the Manning Freeway. Construction is expected to be complete by the fall of 2016, and represents the largest transportation project in Alberta’s history.

All told the northeast leg will include:

27 kilometers of 6 and 8 -lane divided roadway

8 interchanges

9 flyovers

2 river structures

47 bridge structures

The NE leg will be completed as a public-private partnership, or P3, and will wrap up roughly three years sooner than if it had been built using conventional methods.

“Now is the time to make investments like these,” Premier Stelmach said. “We’re going to see a big global boom, so we have to move on this project. It’s just the right thing to do.”

Click here for more information on the Anthony Henday Northeast.

-Scott Sehested

Alberta Transportation