Project Update – February 8, 2021
Virtual Information Session
If you haven’t had a chance to check out the virtual information session, this is the last week to submit questions. After February 14, the questions and comments will be summarized as Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), which will be published in March.
What’s Happening in Traffic This Week
Eastbound Trans-Canada Highway to Northbound Stoney Trail Detour Overnight
Tonight (February 8), between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., the ramp from eastbound Trans-Canada Highway to northbound Stoney Trail will be closed for overhang bracket installations. Traffic will be detoured to the Bowfort Road N.W. interchange.
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. For all other project information, please visit westringroad.ca.
We appreciate your patience during construction.
Trans-Canada Highway / Valley Ridge Boulevard N.W. Interchange
With traffic shifted to the detour, construction on the remaining two bridges for the interchange is underway.
Looking north at piling for two of three bridges on the interchange, with the new bridge visible in the background 
Looking west at Trans-Canada Highway traffic on the detour and bridge construction starting in the existing lanes
More Abutments
There are 20 bridges on the North project, which means there are 40 abutments to tell you about! Here’s a photo log of some of the abutments under construction around the site.
Abutment Piles
Once the piles are driven to the proper depth the tops are cut off
Exposed piles before abutment formwork assembly begins
Wooden formwork and diaphragm rebar for the abutment wall have been built around the exposed steel piles 
Diaphragm rebar runs along the abutment wall
Abutment Diaphragm
Abutment diaphragms transmit loads from the bridge deck to the abutment piles. These cast-in-place concrete diaphragms (or cross-frames) form the permanent connection between the bridge girders and the abutments.
Example of abutment back wall and wing wall formwork
Making a Dent
Excavation is progressing north of Old Banff Coach Road S.W. The gravel being extracted is called pit run, also known as bank run, which is a natural deposit of rocks between six and 12 inches in diameter. Pit run is used extensively to form the base of road structures.
Looking east at gravel excavation at the site of the future interchange 
The large machines beside the excavation area start to provide a sense of the scale
Distracted Driving = Impaired Driving
According to the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), fatalities caused by distracted driving have surpassed those caused by impaired driving in some parts of Canada. Drivers who check their phone while driving are eight times more likely to be involved in a collision, and texting while driving increases the likelihood of a crash by 23 times. The social and economic cost of road crashes in Canada is estimated to be $25 billion per year (including direct and indirect costs, as well as pain and suffering), most of which are preventable.
Alberta’s distracted driving law prohibits the following activities (and yes, they’re still prohibited when you’re stopped at a traffic signal):
- Using hand-held cell phones
- Texting or e-mailing
- Using electronic devices such as laptop computers, video games, cameras, video entertainment displays and programming portable audio players such as MP3 players
- Entering information on GPS units
- Reading printed materials
- Writing, printing or sketching
- Personal grooming such as brushing and flossing teeth, putting on makeup, curling hair, clipping nails or shaving
Enabling the ‘do not disturb’ feature on your phone, pre-programming your navigation system and creating a playlist are all proactive strategies to stop distracted driving. If something unexpected happens, find a safe place to pull over and then address the problem.
