The City is pressing pause on the Highway 11A/Northland Drive project, originally scheduled to begin this year, due to increasing construction and material supply costs.
Bids for the project, which was budgeted for $47M, came in more than $25M over budget, leading The City’s Engineering team to postpone.
“We anticipated costs would be higher due to recent inflation of material supplies, but the quotes we received were substantially higher than our original budget,” said Konrad Dunbar, Engineering Services Manager. “The added cost, compiled with shifting growth patterns in our city, have led us to postpone the project for the time being.”
Construction was originally planned to twin Highway 11A from Highway 2 to Gaetz Avenue this year, while roundabouts were to be added at both Taylor Drive and Gaetz Avenue intersections along 11A in 2023 and 2024, as well as construction of an overpass over the railway.
Approximately $9.8M of the $47M budget has been spent on design, land acquisition, utility relocates and other preliminary work. The remaining $37.6M of unspent budget will be returned to the original funding sources.
“The work that has been completed will be necessary when the project is restarted, so those funds have not gone to waste,” said Dunbar. “The project will be rescheduled in future budget years in alignment with development.”
The City will continue to monitor traffic needs as development continues in the area to identify future timing for the project.
For more information, please contact:
Corporate Communications
The City of Red Deer