People who make their living on the move are revved up for the opening of Anthony Henday Drive.
The traffic started flowing yesterday and the new road was expected to be fully open today in time for the morning commute.
Ritchie Nelson, owner of courier firm Fast Forward Express, said the road is going to be great for his business.
“I know that the guys will get around a lot faster so stuff will get done faster,” he said.
Nelson’s company does express delivery and pick-up all over the Edmonton region and he said the new road will make it easier to move goods around.
The company’s office in Riel Park already gives them some access to the road, but Nelson said Ray Gibbon Drive can become congested now and with more exits off the Henday there will be more options.
Warner Stevenson, the day manager at Lime Taxi, said the company is also eager for the opening.
“It should have a huge impact on us. It should make it a lot easier to get in and out of St. Albert that is for sure,” Stevenson said.
Lime Taxi advises customers to allow about 45 minutes if they are travelling to the Edmonton International Airport. The new Henday leg should be able to shave some time from that.
“It should be down around 30 minutes once they get the higher limits posted,” Stevenson said.
Gilles Prefontaine, the chair of the St. Albert Economic Development Advisory Committee (SAEDAC), and a frequent commuter said he can’t wait for the road to open.
“I spend a lot of time travelling around there, whether it is to the airport or whether it is to the [south Edmonton] research park,” Prefontaine said.
Prefontaine said he expects both of those trips to be a lot faster with the road opened. He also said it will be easier to get around St. Albert itself with more options to come into the city on the Henday.
With his SAEDAC hat on, Prefontaine also argued the road will be great for local businesses and development, as it will provide more access to an important transportation routes.
“This is going to be a big boost especially for our business parks,” he said.
One fleet of vehicles that won’t be using the new road is St. Albert Transit. Director Bob McDonald said the city doesn’t have any immediate plans to have buses on the road.
“We expect, like we all do, that traffic patterns are going to change, but we haven’t made any changes to our routes or times just yet,” he said.
