Transportation Minister Brian Mason was in Calgary on Tuesday to provide an update on the west section of the ring road and construction is slated to begin in the spring.
It's been ten years since the first stretch of the Calgary Ring Road opened and the southwest section is expected to open in the fall of 2021 and the west segment is scheduled to open in 2022.
The southwest leg will go from Highway 8 to Macleod Trail S.E. and consists of 31 kilometres of roadway.
The west section is the final 9 kilometres of the ring road and goes between Highway 8 and the Trans-Canada Highway.
The west leg will be done in three parts and includes the reconstruction of about five kilometres of the Trans-Canada Highway.
- South: Connects to southwest Ring Road
- North: Meets the Trans-Canada Highway
- Bridge: Over the Bow River
Mason says shovels should be in the ground on the west section in a few months.
He says contracts for construction are in place for the north and bridge segments and a contractor for the south section should be in place by 2020.
“We put in place the contracts to finish the ring road around Calgary. This is the last link in the circle around this city and we are proceeding today to announce that we awarded two of the three contracts for the completion of the ring road,” said Mason. “We expect that we will have shovels in the ground on this project this spring.”
Officials say construction of the north section and Bow River Bridge will provide over 2600 jobs.
“Thousands of Albertans will be working on this project in the coming years, building a transportation project that will carry millions of Calgarians and Albertans to and from their destinations,” said Mason.
When the ring road is complete it will provide over 100 kilometres of free-flow travel and it is hoped it will improve access and reduce congestion.
For more information on the West Ring Road, click HERE.
