Government invests in smoother ride to Red Deer
Posted Apr 19, 2016 4:14 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The province is paving the way for a smoother ride to Red Deer.
It announced a $100 million dollar investment into the Queen Elizabeth II Highway interchange with Gaetz Avenue in Red Deer, a route that usually sees 42,000 drivers a day.
The government expects the project to create hundreds of jobs over the next three years.
It includes five new bridges, and more collector and highway access lanes, meant to drastically reduce traffic in the area.
Premier Rachel Notley echoed her party’s argument from last Thursday’s budget that now is the time to build.
“We have access to the strongest and most talented labour force in the country,” Notley said. “This is a time when materials are reasonably priced. Albertans are looking to our government for leadership, and providing the jobs that will help them weather the economic storm.”
However, she said the construction will make things worse before they get better.
“As someone who drives up and down that highway about two to six times a week, you can rest assured that I will feel your pain along with you,” she said. “But, I also believe that we all know the long-term gain will be well worth the short-term pain.”
Randy Chalupa, chairman of the Alberta Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association, applauded the announcement, and said he’s expecting a sort of bidding war over which company will get the contract.
“I know that a good number of our member companies will be competing for this project,” he said.
The entire project is expected to be complete before Red Deer hosts the Canada Winter Games in 2019.
