No. GC006/03For release - May 9, 2003
CALGARY (Alberta), May 9, 2003 — Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Premier Ralph Klein today announced funding of $500 million towards the construction of segments of ring roads around Calgary and Edmonton.
"The Governments of Canada and Alberta agree that the Calgary and Edmonton ring roads are top infrastructure priorities," said Prime Minister Chrétien. "With this investment, we will keep people and goods moving quickly and efficiently to, and through, these cities. We will also help clear the air by reducing traffic congestion in the city centres."
"The ring roads in Calgary and Edmonton are integral components of the Trans-Canada Highway and the Trans-Canada Highway Yellowhead Route through Alberta," said Premier Klein. "Alberta's population continues to grow rapidly and that growth has been concentrated in Calgary and Edmonton. Construction of the ring roads will reduce congestion, make the movement of goods more efficient and will make travel through the cities safer."
In Calgary, funding announced today will contribute to the construction of an important section of the Calgary ring road. The project is part of the Calgary Go Plan elaborated to deal with the City's expected growth.
In Edmonton, the investment announced today will provide for the construction of the Southeast section of the ring road. The ring road project is an integral part of the City of Edmonton's Transportation Master Plan that addresses future transportation needs.
The Government of Canada will contribute $150 million towards the construction of the segments of both ring roads, while the Province of Alberta will invest
$350 million. Alberta's investment is part of the $5.5 billion Centennial Capital Plan announced in Budget 2003, of which $1.5 billion is being provided for provincial highways. The investments announced today bring the Government of Canada's contribution to Alberta's infrastructure since 1994 to over $700 million.
The Government of Alberta has invested over $7.6 billion in the province's transportation infrastructure since 1994.
The Government of Canada's $150-million contribution, will come from the $2-billion Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund. Through the Fund, the Government of Canada works with provincial, territorial and municipal governments, as well as with the private sector, to meet strategic infrastructure needs throughout the country. These investments are directed to large-scale projects of major national and regional significance, in areas that are vital to sustaining economic growth and supporting an enhanced quality of life for Canadians.
In the Speech from the Throne of September 30, 2002, the Government of Canada committed to an additional 10-year involvement in public infrastructure. Its Budget 2003 re-affirmed this long-term commitment and provided an additional $3 billion in infrastructure support, thus bringing the Government of Canada's contribution to infrastructure to $12 billion since 1993.
Funding for this initiative was provided for in the February 2003 federal Budget and is built into the existing fiscal framework.
For more information on Infrastructure Canada and its programs, please visit: http://www.infrastructurecanada.gc.ca.
For more information on the infrastructure initiatives of the Government of Canada, please visit: http://pm.gc.ca.
For more information on transportation programs in Alberta, please visit: http://www.transportation.alberta.ca.
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For more information, please contact:
PMO Press Office(613) 957-5555
Gordon TurtleDirector of CommunicationsOffice of the Premier of Alberta(780) 422-8475
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BACKGROUNDERCALGARY RING ROAD PROJECT
Calgary's road system needs
In 1991, the City of Calgary responded to the need to manage its growth by developing the Go Plan, a strategic long-range effort that links transportation and land use planning. The Go Plan resulted in the 1995 Calgary Transportation Plan, which outlined options to maintain a successful transportation system in Calgary over the next 30 years. The document reflected a balance between community and environmental quality, mobility and costs/affordability.
The Calgary ring roads are a major component of the Transportation Plan's proposed skeletal road network. The network consists of four east/west and four north/south freeways and expressway standard roads. The network was designed to:
support the recommended land use distribution and travel forecasts;
maximize the use of existing river crossing locations and avoid new ones;
provide free flowing travel continuity throughout the day, which is critical to the efficient movement of goods and services.
Calgary grows
Between 1991 and 2024 Calgary's population is projected to increase by about 542,000, bringing the total population to 1.25 million, mostly in new suburbs. If past trends continue, this will represent an additional 470,000 cars competing for space on Calgary roads. Most of the increased traffic will travel from the new suburbs to jobs downtown.
The infrastructure improvement
The approximately 15-km construction project announced today will form the northwest quadrant of a larger ring road project around the City of Calgary, also known as Stoney Trail. The project will include the construction of a limited access, four-lane highway beginning at Highway 1 in the west and ending at Highway 2 north. The existing Stoney Trail will be widened from Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) to Country Hills Boulevard. Stoney Trail will also be extended north and west from Country Hills Boulevard to Highway 2, with an interchange on Highway 2, north of Country Hills Boulevard. The total cost of the project will be approximately $250 million and will be shared between the federal and provincial governments.
There is currently no by-pass for the Trans-Canada Highway around Calgary. The project will help divert traffic from 16th Avenue (the TCH), and from Highway 2, also known as the Deerfoot Trail. These diversions will help alleviate inner-city congestion and allow goods and people to move more freely through the city. Once complete, this project will help to remove trucks from already-congested urban routes, allowing through-traffic to go around the city, thus improving the east-west and north-south trade routes.
BACKGROUNDEREDMONTON RING ROAD PROJECT
Edmonton's road system needs
"Plan Edmonton" is the City's municipal development plan. The Transportation Master Plan is a framework within Plan Edmonton that establishes how the city will address future transportation needs to the year 2020. Edmonton's ring roads are an integral part of this Transportation Master Plan, which recommends the development of a system of high standard arterial roadways to facilitate the movement of large volumes of people and goods over relatively long distances across the city. This system has three elements designed to work together:
Outer ring road: Edmonton's ring road system, basic six-lane free flow standard.
Inner ring loop: consists of Whitemud Drive, Yellowhead Trail, 170 Street and 75 Street, minimum of six through lanes and posted speed of 70km/h.
Highway connectors: number of existing arterial roadways, which will be enhanced to connect the inner and outer rings as well as the regional highway network.
Edmonton grows
Edmonton's population is expected to grow from 616,000 in 1996 to 829,000 in 2020. Growth in the area surrounding Edmonton will result in a population of 1.17 million in the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area. Traffic volume is expected to triple during the same period.
The infrastructure improvement
The approximately 11-km construction project announced today will form the southeast quadrant of a larger ring road project around the City of Edmonton. The construction will include 4-laning the new road from Highway 216 to the north-south Highway 2 corridor. Further, this segment will join with the southwest portion of the ring road currently under construction. Connecting to this southwest portion will provide a complete southern by-pass around the city, alleviating congestion along Whitemud Drive as well as on the southern portion of Highway 2 through the city of Edmonton. The total cost of the project will be approximately $250 million and will be shared between the federal and provincial governments.
The section announced today will accommodate through-traffic on the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway 16, and provide an efficient connection to the north-south trade corridor. Once complete, the project will help to remove trucks from currently-congested urban routes by allowing through-traffic to go around the city, thus improving the east-west and north-south trade routes.
