Project Update – April 26, 2021
What’s Happening in Traffic This Week
Sweeping the Streets
Street sweeping on the North project will be happening daily between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. this week. There may be occasional traffic slowdowns as a result.
Westbound Trans-Canada Highway Reduced to One Lane
Until Wednesday, April 28, the right lane will be closed along westbound Trans-Canada Highway at Valley Ridge Boulevard N.W. for road maintenance. Delays are expected.
Westbound Trans-Canada Highway Ramp to Northbound Stoney Trail
The ramp from westbound Trans-Canada Highway to northbound Stoney Trail will be reduced to one lane until the end of the month. Open trench culvert construction is ongoing in this area.
Drainage culvert construction on the west side of the ramp from westbound Trans-Canada highway to northbound Stoney Trail
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.
Finishing Touches
In high traffic areas like this one, with thousands of vehicles per day on the Trans-Canada Highway, concrete barriers are installed at the base of the centre piers to prevent or minimize damage to the piers from a vehicle collision.
Wooden formwork and rebar being installed for the centre pier concrete barrier 
Formwork is complete 
Concrete pour underway
The Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) wall retaining the embankment at the westbound Trans-Canada Highway to southbound Stoney Trail ramp is nearly complete. The wall coping, which is a cap or cover on the top of the wall, has been poured. Coping is used to secure the MSE panels together as well as finish the wall aesthetically.
Looking north, crews assemble the wooden formwork for the wall coping
Cast-in-place concrete wall coping under tarps
Off to a Good Start
The first bridge deck pour for the 2021 construction season is in the books. This single span bridge has come together quickly with the first piles installed in June 2020 and the deck poured less than a year later.
The truss screed attaches to rails on both sides of the deck and the motorized attachment moves back and forth across the deck to smooth out the freshly poured concrete
A boom arm pumps concrete onto the bridge deck from the ground below
The bid-well operator sitting on top of the truss screed controls the motorized attachment while the rest of the crew spreads the concrete as it is pumped onto the deck. About 14-16 people are needed for a typical bridge deck pour
The bridge deck is wet cured for 14 days and covered with curing blankets to maintain its moisture, helping to prevent surface cracks
Valley Ridge Boulevard N.W. Interchange
Looking north at the future Valley Ridge Boulevard N.W.
Looking east at the original Trans-Canada Highway bridges over Valley Ridge Boulevard N.W. which are still in use while the new bridges are constructed
Looking east at the Crestmont Boulevard / Valley Ridge Boulevard N.W. intersection
Looking south from Valley Ridge Boulevard N.W.; work on the southbound lanes is underway
Looking north at grading for the southbound lanes approaching Valley Ridge Drive N.W.
Old Banff Coach Road S.W. Centre Piers
The concrete centre pier footing (bridge foundation) has cured and work forming the columns for the bridge piers is underway.
The rebar for three centre piers protrudes from the top of the spread footing foundation
Because of its height and overall size, the column rebar is preassembled on site and hoisted into place
The column rebar ‘cage’ seen above will be placed over top of this footing rebar, then wooden forms will shape the pier and be poured with concrete
Bow Trail S.W. Bridge Foundations
Excavation for the centre pier footing and a test pile visible on the right
Looking east at excavation for the centre footing and the piling rig set up on the east abutment
Springbank Ravine Drainage Culvert Installation
Looking east at culvert base construction
A control strip is a test section used to determine a ‘rolling pattern’ to achieve the desired compaction density; the number of passes needed for the control strip can be used as a guide for compaction in the surrounding area
The high-density polyethylene (HDPE) culvert pipe segments are assembled and welded together on site
The HDPE pipe is about 15cm thick