A portion of the construction on Calgary’s busiest artery will officially end Saturday, officials say, while remaining work on improving it will continue over the next year.
The northernmost section of the upgrades — including the expansion of Deerfoot Trail and the new connection between Beddington Trail and 11th Street N.E. — has been partly completed, the province announced Friday morning.
The news is one milestone of several that will come over the next year as the province has embarked on upgrading large swaths of the north-south highway along the city’s east side.
“Calgarians have had to suffer a little bit for some of the construction work that’s been going on, albeit not significantly,” said Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot.
“While it has been a little bit of a pain, it’s short-term pain for the ultimate long-term gain — there’s a lot of very significant updates that will be allowing Calgarians to move more efficiently.”
The newly completed section will divert considerable traffic between McKnight Boulevard and Beddington Trail to the new connection, the province said, and will increase safety and reducing weaving northbound on Deerfoot. They also address bottlenecks between Glenmore Trail and Anderson Road/Bow Bottom Trail.
Construction on the project began in spring 2023. Among these upgrades also included adding another lane to Deerfoot Trail in both directions from Airport Trail to Beddington Trail.
The newest section to be completed is the second piece of Deerfoot that’s been completed over the past year: improvements at 64th Avenue, which began in 2022, wrapped up construction last year.
The news does not mean construction or disruptions along Deerfoot Trail are close to reaching the end, though the province expects other areas of construction will wrap up in 2025. Among them are upgrades at McKnight Boulevard and at 16th Avenue N.E., both anticipated to wrap up next fall.
“Overall, it’s just been a great, great update here for the city,” said Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen.
Chris Dinsdale, CEO of Calgary International Airport, said the new alternative routes make it easier for commercial partners to reach the airport.
The province has said the plethora of improvements could reduce evening commute times by nearly a quarter, and morning rush-hour commutes by 15 per cent.
When they’re completed, it’s expected the upgrades will have cost the province about $615 million. The project includes rehabilitating two bridges, adding or twinning seven bridges, widening about 40 kilometres of roadway, weaving traffic adjustments and several interchange reconfigurations.
The entire project is expected to finish by 2027. Alberta’s most recent budget allocated $523.8 million for the upgrades.
Known as Alberta’s busiest road, more than 180,000 vehicles rumble along Deerfoot Trail every day. Traffic along the thoroughfare has only increased with Calgary’s population, leading the province to undertake the major upgrades.
— With files from Steven Wilhelm