Project Update – April 5, 2021
What’s Happening in Traffic This Week
Trans-Canada Highway Reduced to One Lane Nightly
Every night from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., April 11 to 16, the Trans-Canada Highway will be reduced to a single lane in each direction at the Stoney Trail interchange. The lane closures are needed for bridge overhang bracket installation. Delays are expected.
Installing the metal diaphragm bracing between each girder, workers use a properly calibrated torque wrench ensuring that the right amount of force is applied to each nut and bolt
All work is weather dependent. Please check 511 Albertaand 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 Detour – Preparing Westbound Lanes
Looking east at preparing the road base for the westbound detour lanes 
Looking west at fresh asphalt for the westbound detour lanes
Raising the Profile
In the area immediately west of Valley Ridge Boulevard N.W., the Trans-Canada Highway will be raised to improve the steep grades. You can view the new road profile and cross sections at westringroad.ca > North Project > Trans-Canada Highway Improvements.
When earth is added to an area it’s called ‘fill’ 
It will take approximately 145,000 cubic metres of fill to raise the road profile about 7m – hauling that much fill will require roughly 3,450 truckloads
Valley Ridge Boulevard N.W. Interchange
Once this area is excavated, work on Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) walls will begin 
Looking north at the west abutments; ground survey stakes indicate the cut elevation and limit of disturbance
Trans-Canada Highway / Stoney Trail Interchange
There have been several girder lifts in this area recently. Since both of these bridges are over live traffic, the girder lifts require overnight lane closures to place them without risk to the public.
Looking east at girders on the bridges for the ramp from northbound Stoney Trail to westbound Trans-Canada Highway 
All four girders installed on the south span of the south bridge, and cranes setting up to install girders on the north span 
Installing a north span girder
Controlled Blasting Resuming in Mid-April
Controlled blasting at the north end of the Paskapoo Slope will resume shortly. Crews are back on site excavating and drilling rigs are anticipated to begin drilling blast holes toward the end of this week, with daily blasts starting as early as April 10.
Blasts will happen Monday to Saturday, between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Pending progress, blasting is expected to be complete in early August.
Looking north at the Paskapoo Slope 
Looking northeast at a buggy being loaded with material to haul away 
Last year ENMAX was relocating their poles on the west side of the slope (seen along the ridge); the bedrock to be blasted this year is visible in the slope
Old Banff Coach Road S.W. Bridge Foundation and Piling
A shallow foundation (constructed below ground but close to the surface) can be constructed in areas where the stronger, load bearing soil suitable for carrying the weight of the structure is near the surface, making it unnecessary to dig a deep foundation.
A spread footing is a specific type of shallow foundation. Spread footing foundations are a simple and flexible design, which can translate into cost savings and faster construction timelines. They have a wider bottom than the load-bearing elements they support, which spreads the weight of the structure over a larger area for greater stability.
Image sourced from https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/
A spread footing is being used for the centre piers on the Old Banff Coach Road S.W. interchange.
March 23, 2021 – Looking south, work begins placing the rebar for the concrete centre pier footing 
March 23, 2021
March 24, 2021 
March 26, 2021 
March 26, 2021
