Last Friday, members of the municipal and provincial governments met to celebrate an achievement nearly a year in the making.
On Oct. 11, Cal Dallas, MLA for Red Deer-South and minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations, on behalf of Alberta Transportation Minister Ric McIver, joined Mayor of Lacombe Steve Christie, special guests, and members of the public at a special ceremony to celebrate the completion of the $19.3 million Hwy. 2A upgrade and expansion project.
“The Government of Alberta is pleased to have contributed $16 million toward this project, which transformed a rural two-lane road into a safe urban highway,” added McIver. “This is about building Alberta – working together to improve our core infrastructure to help expand market access for the province and enhance safety for all motorists.”
Christie agreed.
“This is a vital project for Lacombe, and is a wonderful example of how the province, the city and private industry – C.P. Rail, can work together to execute a project of this magnitude.
“This project has resulted in increased safety for all roadway users, and will serve the City and entire region for many years to come.”
The 4 km expansion and upgrade involved transforming the highway from a rural cross-section – with open ditches and paved shoulders – to an urban cross-section with added traffic lanes, underground storm sewers, concrete sidewalks, curbs and gutters.
The creation of dedicated traffic lanes as part of the expansion now allows for easier access on and off Hwy. 2A, as well as smoother traffic flow within the City.
The addition of a service road, as well as new parking stalls will increase access to the businesses along the highway.
As well, the construction of a 3m-wide multi-use trail paralleling the highway allows for better connectivity for cyclists and pedestrians.
The bulk of the project was completed in October of last year, with the final construction wrapped up around the two railway intersections in August of this year.
The City of Lacombe was responsible for management of the construction project, as well as any future maintenance of the highway.
This project is one of many objectives to strengthen transportation infrastructure within the province.
This year the government will invest $1.4 billion in Alberta’s transportation network.
- Vossen