With spring in the air, road construction season is nearly upon us. We have many projects scheduled over the coming months to improve the safety and capacity of our city’s transportation network.
The summer’s road construction plan largely encompasses major infrastructure projects, such as the 19 Street Improvement Project, routine road maintenance programs, as well as underground utility work to keep our critical infrastructure in good shape.
The 19 Street Improvement Project will improve safety, movement and capacity on one of Red Deer’s major arterial roadways. This project is big, and will take place over the next two construction seasons to complete the following:
- Roadway rehabilitation: 19 Street between Irwin Avenue and Gaetz Avenue is a road in need of upgrades to the entire road infrastructure to maintain the road’s integrity.
- Roundabout at 19 Street and 40 Avenue: Construction of a multi-lane modern roundabout at 19 Street and 40 Avenue will improve intersection capacity, reduce overall traffic delays and improve safety for all road users.
- Trail connections: New multi-use trails will be built to provide better multi-modal connectivity between neighbourhoods, parks, and commercial spaces.
“Throughout this improvement project, our goal is to keep people moving efficiently through the construction zone,” said Russ Watts, Acting Engineering Services Manager. “Traffic in both directions will remain open throughout construction with reduced lanes and left turns through the construction site will not be permitted.”
Another area of our city that will see significant roadwork is Taylor Drive. Between May and August, City crews will be performing pavement rehabilitation and bridge upgrades on the northbound lanes of the Taylor Drive Bridge. During this work, traffic will be diverted the southbound lanes, with travel open in both directions.
During the later summer and into the fall, we will be replacing the downstream end of the Waskasoo Creek Culvert near Taylor Drive and 28 Street. There will be single lane traffic through the area.
Motorists will also see City crews paving, micro-surfacing, and doing other road and trail upgrades, such as pothole and frost heave repair at numerous places around the city. Many of these projects are shorter term, with minimal impacts to traffic. Whenever we expect longer delays, we will ensure work is posted on the Construction Season Traffic Impact Map at www.reddeer.ca/constructionseason.
“We have a busy Construction Season ahead, and we thank motorists in advance for their patience as we work to improve The City’s critical infrastructure,” said Erin Stuart, General Manager of Development Services. “We ask that drivers pay extra attention to construction zone speed limits, particularly when in a cone zone, and to obey flag persons, so everyone gets home safe.”
For more information about the construction projects planned for this summer and to view the traffic impacts map, visit www.reddeer.ca/constructionseason. We know construction season isn’t easy, but it will be worth it.
March 27, 2023 - Q&A 2023 Construction Season (pdf)