The province’s plan to twin Highway 63 could move bottlenecks into Sturgeon County in the short term, but the long-term plan will see two-lane highways from Fort McMurray all the way to Edmonton.
A long running concern, Highway 63 was thrust back into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons after a tragic collision claimed seven lives last month.
The heavy traffic on the highway is primarily related to oilsands work and much of it comes from the Edmonton area. As that traffic comes back into the city, it spills onto Highway 28 cutting through Sturgeon County.
The traffic peaks in line with shift changes at the massive oilsands plants near the community.
“We definitely get an influx on the Thursday and Sunday of traffic,” said Morinville RCMP Staff Sgt. Mac Richards, noting the traffic increase on all local highways. “It is not just 28, it is Highway 2, it is Highway 37.”
Premier Alison Redford announced last month she would like to speed up the twinning of Highway 63. That work is supposed to be completed in three years, but the premier said she would like to see it progress more quickly.
She appointed Fort McMurray MLA Mike Allen to report on ways to speed up the project and make the road safer in the interim.
Under Alberta Transportation’s current plans a four-lane Highway 63, would run into the two-lane Highway 28 north of Redwater where the highways meet, but that too could change.
Alberta Transportation plans to twin Highway 28 and Highway 28A, running all the way into Edmonton. Functional alignment studies have been completed on all of 28A, and on Highway 28 between Gibbons and Highway 63 as well as from Edmonton to Highway 642, with the last remaining section expected soon.
“Functional planning work looks at the overall design of where we would be locating the twinning,” said department spokesperson Heather Kazuba.
The functional planning is essentially the first step, before more detailed design work is done and before construction.
While the broad plan is sketched out, none of the construction is on Alberta Transportation’s three-year plan. Kazuba said that plan is constantly updated and if the direction came, work on Highway 28 could proceed quickly.
“Alberta Transportation is looking forward to the future and is preparing,” she said. “We are able to move forward quickly when Alberta Transportation moves forward with twinning.”
Sturgeon County councillor Tom Flynn, whose division includes the highway, said when travelling south, once a driver reaches Highway 28, there are other options.
“A lot of the traffic dissipates amongst the towns,” he said. “It spreads out and filters enough.”
Flynn said he is glad the province in planning to expand the roadways, but in the short term there is no reason to sound the alarm.
“I wouldn’t call it a major emergency right away, no.”
