Local MLA Peter Guthrie wants to assure Cochranites that the Highway 22 and Highway 1A interchange project is moving forward.
The provincial budget, released on October 24, 2019, contains allocations for $597 million for highway twinning, widening and expansion. The 2019 provincial construction program identifies an interchange upgrade on Highway 1A on the northwest boundary of Cochrane and bridge replacement at the Big Hill Creek on Highway 1A at the northern boundary of Cochrane.
Guthrie, who represents the electoral district of Airdrie-Cochrane, said right up until the budget was released, he still wasn’t sure if money would be allocated for the interchange project.
“First off I can assure you that the project is going ahead,” Guthrie said. Guthrie explains that the project was approved by former premier Alison Redford more than five years ago. He said money and resources were diverted to the more urgent twinning of the two-lane Highway 63 to Fort McMurray.
Guthrie said a change of government in 2015 further delayed the project. Rachel Notley’s NDP government claimed the interchange as an infrastructure promise, but in four years the project never left the design phase.
Current Transportation Minister Ric McIver remembered the project from Redford’s government and according to Guthrie he knew it was needed.
“I kept reminding him that it was a project that has been promised or expected in our community for four to five years. I think that helped,” Guthrie said.
The project is still in the design phase and will remain there until it goes out to tender. Guthrie explained that three factors have contributed to the projects delay.
Last summer an archeological dig took place over the summer. Some artifacts and a brick walkway were excavated. The dig will continue next spring in a nearby area.
The project also had to accommodate the West Path Delivery pipeline, a 21.5 km pipeline loop that runs parallel to Highway 22 for approximately 6 kilometres through Cochrane. The pipeline, a project with NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. an owned subsidiary of TransCanada Pipelines, is under construction currently.
The scope of the project has also expanded to accommodate the community of Sunset Ridge. He said the community developer suggested that the project include two turning lanes.
“We can’t get people out of there fast enough,” Guthrie said of the current bottleneck traffic situation in the community.
Guthrie doesn’t expect that the redesign will take a great deal of time. He says the interchange will be complete within four years.
“I think people are going to be pretty understanding that the scope of the project has actually expanded slightly,” Guthrie said referring to the archeological dig, the pipeline and the redesign to include Sunset Ridge.
Guthrie has lived in Cochrane for a decade and understands the importance of this project. He explained that the intersection has numerous roles. It allows residents to move throughout the community, it’s an economic corridor, it’s an access point for Morley and it allows emergency response vehicles to move freely. If this interchange isn’t working at its full potential then traffic is diverted into the community and adds pressure on local roadways.
He adds that delays in completing the interchange have also delayed further development in Heritage Hills and Heartland. Developers are holding off until the traffic situation improves.
“People want to see equipment out there because we’ve been promised (the interchange) by two governments. I will not be letting it go,” Guthrie said.
