Project Update - October 19, 2020 - West Calgary Ring Road

What’s Happening in Traffic This Week

Eastbound Trans-Canada Highway reduced to one lane – There will be daily inside lane closures in three separate locations to pave medians for future detours.

Southwest Calgary Ring Road now open to traffic – On October 1, 12 kilometres of the Southwest Calgary Ring Road, known as Tsuut’ina Trail, opened to traffic. This marks a major milestone in the project and reduces existing travel routes by 6.5 kilometres. This portion of Tsuut’ina Trail makes up just 40 per cent of its total length, the rest of which is scheduled for completion in 2021.

Visit Alberta.ca to read more.

All work is weather dependent. Please check 511 Alberta and The City of Calgary’s traffic information map for up-to-date information on traffic detours and speed reductions.

We appreciate your patience during construction.

Getting Ready for Cast-in-Place Pier Segments

The concrete for the pier table has cured and the hoarding has been removed from the first pier on the north side. For the next several weeks, crews will be assembling and installing the form travellers.

Looking south at the first cured pier table (bridge deck)

As the name implies, form travellers are pre-assembled forms that will be filled with concrete to make a bridge segment. Once the concrete has cured, the forms are moved to the end of that segment and the process begins again.

*Example of a form traveller being used for cast-in-place (mid-air) bridge construction. Credit:* *Pullman Services*

In-River Pier Construction

Looking north at a crane lifting materials to be lowered into the cofferdam where the in-river pier is under construction

Multiple Milestones on Multiple Bridges

EllisDon has been pushing hard to take advantage of every hour of sunshine and above-freezing temperatures. Over the last few weeks, crews have raised girders, poured bridge decks and paved roads and bridges.

Raising bridge girders on mainline Stoney Trail

Setting up to start forming the bridge deck

Building up a reinforced soil slope for the ramp from westbound Trans-Canada Highway to southbound Stoney Trail

New concrete is sprayed to maintain its moisture content

Paving on the basketweave bridge is complete

Water Under the Bridge

Before paving or waterproofing the bridge deck, crews installed a wick drain. Wick drains use corrugated plastic and geotextile material to allow water to drain and filter soil and debris. On bridges, wick drains are often placed in the low corner and surrounded by a waterproof membrane.

Improper water drainage on bridges can result in large puddles blocking the roadway or create slippery conditions through hydroplaning or ice formation.

Waterproofing membrane and wick drain with the expansion joint visible on the left

Wetland Removal Underway

Last week crews began excavating the wetland in the Transportation Utility Corridor (TUC) west of Aspen Woods. The wetland stretches east-west across the future mainline as well as north-south through the future Bow Trail S.W. interchange alignment, resulting in ground conditions unsuitable for infrastructure. Once excavation is complete, the area will be filled with material more suitable for building infrastructure upon, along with a culvert to maintain existing drainage.

Excavating the marshy wetland material at the east end of the ravine

Keep Out of the Construction Zone

While you may have walked in these areas in the past, the trails between West Springs and Aspen Woods are within the Transportation Utility Corridor (TUC), which is private property and off limits to the public.

Construction of the South project is fully underway and there are many hazards on site (seen and unseen) including heavy equipment and recently disturbed earth. Construction sites are not safe for the public. Please respect the boundaries and keep out of the construction zone.

You can find other walking areas on The City of Calgary’s pathways and bikeways map and off-leash dog area map.

Thank you for your cooperation to keep the construction zone safe for everyone.

Informal pathways within the TUC are closed

South Project Takes Over the Gravel Pit

For the last several years, the Southwest Calgary Ring Road project has been mining gravel from the Transportation Utility Corridor between Old Banff Coach Road and Bow Trail S.W. Now that the South project is underway this area will be managed by the contractor – Calgary Safelink Partners (CSP).

CSP doing some “housecleaning” as they move into the area

Gravel removal from the area will continue, however the procedure will be different from that of the Southwest Calgary Ring Road. For instance, gravel will not be crushed on site but instead hauled to a separate facility to reduce dust and noise for adjacent residents.

Birdseye view of the gravel pit, looking north

For more information about gravel removal for the South project, please visit westringroad.ca > Construction and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Pedestrian Safety Month

Vehicle collisions with pedestrians tend to increase in the fall because of fewer daylight hours and reduced visibility. Hitting a pedestrian is most likely to occur between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. when people are rushing home from work and the sun is lower on the horizon.

In Alberta, an average of 43 pedestrians were killed and 1,166 were injured each year between 2013 and 2017. Nearly half of drivers involved in pedestrian casualty collisions failed to yield right-of-way to the pedestrian (2017).

The average weight of a car is about 4,000 lbs, and the average weight of a person is around 137 lbs. Research shows that when pedestrians or cyclists are hit by cars travelling 50 km/hour, the likelihood of the pedestrian dying is almost 60 per cent. At 60 km/hour that likelihood jumps to 85 per cent and at 80 km/hour the fatality is nearly certain.

Please be alert for pedestrians, particularly in the early evening.