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Henday interchanges get green light

Traffic signals on Anthony Henday Drive are one step closer to the history books as the federal and provincial governments announced two new interchanges will begin construction later this year.

Traffic signals on Anthony Henday Drive are one step closer to the history books as the federal and provincial governments announced two new interchanges will begin construction later this year.

Interchanges at Callingwood Road and Lessard Road will allow traffic to flow freely on the Henday, which backs up heavily during rush hour. The new interchanges will open in the fall of 2011, the same time as a previously announced interchange at Stony Plain Road and the northwest leg being built along St. Albert’s southern fringe, said Alberta Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette.

The new interchanges are “great” news, said St. Albert MLA Ken Allred.

“Ever since the west end of the Anthony Henday opened, it’s been really backed up at all three of those intersections,” he said. “For St. Albert residents it’s a major inconvenience.”

The province is already doing design work for an interchange at Cameron Heights, the final traffic signal on the Henday. The province hopes to finish the ring road by 2015.

The federal government will contribute up to 50 per cent toward the cost of the new interchanges with the rest coming from the province. There are no cost estimates because the projects will go to tender within the coming weeks.

Many commuters felt the construction is long overdue, judging from various online forums, with many commentators complaining that the interchanges weren’t part of the original build.

When the northwest leg was built, budgetary constraints prevented the interchanges from being built at the same time, said Alberta Transportation spokesperson Heather Kaszuba.

Other online commentators aren’t impressed that the interchange designs include traffic signals for most traffic approaching the Henday from Lessard Road and Callingwood Road.

For example, a motorist travelling west on Callingwood Road will have to make a left turn to access the Henday, whether intending to travel north or south. This is because a northbound off-ramp would have interfered with Henday traffic exiting to travel east on the Whitemud, Kaszuba said.

In contrast, the new interchange being built at Stony Plain Road will be a “full systems interchange,” a design that has no traffic signals in any direction. While ideal for motorists, such a scheme requires more space and costs considerably more, she explained.

“Those systems interchanges are usually placed at very high volume interchanges,” Kaszuba said. “The interchanges at Lessard Road and Callingwood Road typically don’t have the traffic volumes to warrant a full systems interchange.”

The southeast section of the Henday, which is already free-flowing, was built under a P3 model with a 30-year maintenance agreement, Kaszuba said.

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