The Alberta government has completed the Southwest Anthony Henday Drive expansion. “All six lanes of the Southwest Anthony Henday Drive are open to traffic,” said Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen at a Friday press conference. “And this portion of the Henday is now three lanes in each direction from Calgary Trail to Whitemud Drive.” Dreeshen said this means significant time savings for Edmonton drivers. Up until now, he said it could take up to 25 minutes or longer to travel between Calgary and Whitemud. With these new lanes, drivers should be able drive this same route in 10 minutes, saving 15 minutes of travel time in one direction. This section of the Henday was constructed in 2006, and it was designed to handle 40,000 vehicles per day. Three years later, the capacity was exceeded because of growth in southwest Edmonton. He admitted this traffic turned this section of the Henday into a parking lot at times. With this expansion, he said it will accommodate up to 120,000 vehicles. There are about 80,000 vehicles crossing the Henday on a daily basis, so there is room to grow with it. While this news is fantastic for drivers, he said it will be useful for commercial trucks, as they will spend “less time on the road and obviously more time at home doing the things people love.” It will make the movement of commercial goods more efficient, saving time and money. Dreeshen concluded by thanking Edmontonians for their patience throughout this expansion. While it has been a long time coming, he said travel times will be reduced in this section of the city. Edmonton Coun. Tim Cartmell started off the press conference by saying the expansion is important for southwest Edmonton. “Not only is this a primary commuting and goods and services corridor for this quadrant of the city and the Edmonton Metro Region, but it is vitally important for those who live in southwest Edmonton as a commuting route,” said Cartmell. “This is the route that allows us to get to other parts of the city very quickly.” Cartmell said it is counted on by many people who he represents. As importantly, he said it “provides a high-speed, widened, high-capacity corridor that allows people to get to the west end of the city from the south side.” Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board CEO Karen Wichuk said this is a great news day for the region. “These improvements are a big win for our residents and our businesses,” said Wichuk. “They will ensure commuters spend less time in traffic and more time with their loved ones.” With these lanes, Wichuk said they will boost the economy by allowing goods to get to market faster. She expressed gratitude they will keep the region on the move. Dreeshen followed up by saying what he learned from this project and others revolves around the procurement method. “We’ve actually worked with the construction industry to see what we can do as a government to have better contracts, better bids going out to the industry so that there’s a lot more certainty of the design of the project and that risk transfers are put in the right place,” he said. “That’s something we’ve been engaging with the industry.” In the next budget, he said he is hopeful the Alberta government will have a new system in place so taxpayers get better value for money and the construction industry knows more about its capital plans. With this project and others, there have been many lessons learned. Dreeshen confirmed on October 19 drivers can now go on the West Bow Ring Road. READ MORE: Alberta government opens West Bow Ring Road“The bridge that’s right behind me is officially open as of today,” he said. “It’s one lane of traffic.”
The Alberta government has completed the Southwest Anthony Henday Drive expansion. “All six lanes of the Southwest Anthony Henday Drive are open to traffic,” said Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen at a Friday press conference. “And this portion of the Henday is now three lanes in each direction from Calgary Trail to Whitemud Drive.” Dreeshen said this means significant time savings for Edmonton drivers. Up until now, he said it could take up to 25 minutes or longer to travel between Calgary and Whitemud. With these new lanes, drivers should be able drive this same route in 10 minutes, saving 15 minutes of travel time in one direction. This section of the Henday was constructed in 2006, and it was designed to handle 40,000 vehicles per day. Three years later, the capacity was exceeded because of growth in southwest Edmonton. He admitted this traffic turned this section of the Henday into a parking lot at times. With this expansion, he said it will accommodate up to 120,000 vehicles. There are about 80,000 vehicles crossing the Henday on a daily basis, so there is room to grow with it. While this news is fantastic for drivers, he said it will be useful for commercial trucks, as they will spend “less time on the road and obviously more time at home doing the things people love.” It will make the movement of commercial goods more efficient, saving time and money. Dreeshen concluded by thanking Edmontonians for their patience throughout this expansion. While it has been a long time coming, he said travel times will be reduced in this section of the city. Edmonton Coun. Tim Cartmell started off the press conference by saying the expansion is important for southwest Edmonton. “Not only is this a primary commuting and goods and services corridor for this quadrant of the city and the Edmonton Metro Region, but it is vitally important for those who live in southwest Edmonton as a commuting route,” said Cartmell. “This is the route that allows us to get to other parts of the city very quickly.” Cartmell said it is counted on by many people who he represents. As importantly, he said it “provides a high-speed, widened, high-capacity corridor that allows people to get to the west end of the city from the south side.” Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board CEO Karen Wichuk said this is a great news day for the region. “These improvements are a big win for our residents and our businesses,” said Wichuk. “They will ensure commuters spend less time in traffic and more time with their loved ones.” With these lanes, Wichuk said they will boost the economy by allowing goods to get to market faster. She expressed gratitude they will keep the region on the move. Dreeshen followed up by saying what he learned from this project and others revolves around the procurement method. “We’ve actually worked with the construction industry to see what we can do as a government to have better contracts, better bids going out to the industry so that there’s a lot more certainty of the design of the project and that risk transfers are put in the right place,” he said. “That’s something we’ve been engaging with the industry.” In the next budget, he said he is hopeful the Alberta government will have a new system in place so taxpayers get better value for money and the construction industry knows more about its capital plans. With this project and others, there have been many lessons learned. Dreeshen confirmed on October 19 drivers can now go on the West Bow Ring Road. READ MORE: Alberta government opens West Bow Ring Road“The bridge that’s right behind me is officially open as of today,” he said. “It’s one lane of traffic.”
