Lane closure on 4th Avenue Flyover Tuesday as city starts $12.5 million project

Calgary's 4th Avenue Flyover is closed until Monday at 5 a.m. due to maintenance work. (Photo: City of Calgary)

The Fourth Avenue Flyover is about to get a makeover.

The busy bridge, which transports thousands of Calgarians into downtown every day, needs a $12.5 million rehabilitation in order to extend its lifespan by another 35 years.

Starting Tuesday, that means single-lane closures for the rest of the week outside of morning and afternoon rush hours.

That will be followed, at 9 p.m. Friday, by a complete closure through to 5 a.m. Monday morning.

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At that point, one lane of the flyover will reopen starting April 8, except during Stampede, when both lanes will be open.

After that, it will be back to single-lane traffic until the completion of the project in the fall of 2025.

There may also be off-peak lane closures of the underpass roads – Memorial Drive, Edmonton Trail and Riverfront Avenue – for required overhead work during the course of the project.

“The 4^th Avenue Flyover is a very important structure as it’s used by many Calgarians and visitors to commute into downtown,” said city project manager and senior structural engineer Max Lacroix, in a media release. “We understand this work may be impactful to those travelling in the area, local residents and businesses and we thank all Calgarians and visitors for their patience as we carry out this important rehabilitation.”

According to the City of Calgary, the Fourth Avenue Flyover is the city's longest bridge structure.

It was originally built in 1982 and is in need of "major repairs and improvements" after more than four decades of daily service to commuters heading into the downtown core.

Officials say the work will see concrete barriers being rebuilt, concrete being replaced and repaired, expansion joints replaced and lighting added.

The city says once the work is complete, it will improve the "critical link in the transportation network to help with Calgary's continued growth in the coming years."

It's also working to diminish the impact on traffic as much as it can and expects to "continue work during the winter without pause throughout the colder months."

"By doing so, we hope to accelerate our repair work and pending no unexpected circumstances, we may be able to complete the work sooner," the city said.

Plan for delays and traffic congestion as a result. For information on road closures and detours visit calgary.ca/trafficinfo.

In October 2021, the bridge was closed for several days during the shooting of the Emmy Award-winning HBO series The Last of Us.