City gears up for summer construction season

The City’s Transportation department announced summer construction season is upon us and this year it includes close to 30 major infrastructure projects and more than 40 road repaving jobs.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi said a total investment of $441 million dollars ($408M: 29 major transportation construction projects and additional infrastructure work, $33M: 40+ pavement rehabilitation projects) is going into Calgary’s infrastructure network this year alone.

“With this investment, we are keeping Calgarians moving while also supporting our economy by creating over 3,500 jobs,” said Mayor Nenshi. “Once completed, this work will lead to improvements in travel, mobility and safety for people who walk, drive and cycle, also enabling continued development and growth in our city. Construction is never convenient while it’s happening, but the results of all this work will be worth it.”

Kerensa Fromherz, director of Transportation Infrastructure, added that part of enabling continued development and growth in our city means working hand-in-hand with communities and businesses. “We recognize that construction affects everyone and we’re working with communities and businesses to manage impacts as much as possible,” said Fromherz. “This includes staging our work around community events - such as last week’s marathon - and considering business needs such as ceasing construction on 17 Avenue between Macleod Trail S. and 14 Street S.W. in July and August based on the peak summer season for the businesses there.”

With construction work taking place in every quadrant of Calgary, The City has put measures into place to ensure citizens can still get where they need to go. Such measures include the coordination of projects and detours around the city, staged work during off-peak commute times to minimize impacts over rush hour, and where possible, geometric changes to the roadway and temporary alignment changes in order to keep the same number of lanes open.

Troy McLeod, director of Roads, said his crews and contracted staff are preparing for a busy season which includes paving work at more than 40 locations, covering about 212 lane-kilometers of road. Some of the major projects include the repaving of 14 Street, Barlow Trail, Memorial Drive and Heritage Drive. (A full list can be found online at Calgary.ca/paving)

“In addition, there will be various concrete repairs, traffic signal construction, streetlight repairs, bridge repairs and traffic safety improvements to help make life better for Calgarians,” he said. “All of this work will ensure safe and smooth roads for all modes of transportation.”

McLeod said his crews and contracted services will be paying extra attention to making all construction sites pedestrian-friendly. “It is our responsibility to ensure all our construction jobs include plans to maintain safe pedestrian infrastructure in order to disrupt Calgarians as little as possible while keeping their safety in mind.”

McLeod also reminds drivers to please slow down and watch out for crews on-site. “We would like to take this opportunity to remind Calgarians that the road is our crew’s office and we want to make sure they go home safe. We ask that you please adhere to all signage posted and help our workers get their jobs done safely and effectively.”

Some additional tips to help avoid delays during this year’s construction season include:

1. Check @yyctransport on Twitter for up to the minute closure information.
2. Check google maps for up to the minute traffic congestion and accident notifications
3. Tune in to your local TV and/or radio stations

Please see the attached infographic and map for more information.

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