Project Update - April 4, 2022 - West Calgary Ring Road

What’s Happening in Traffic This Week

Westbound Trans-Canada Highway Reduced to One Lane

Each day from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. until April 8, 2022, and again on April 11, 2022, the left lane will be closed on the Trans-Canada Highway at Stoney Trail.

UPCOMING: Highway 8 Traffic Shift

The week of Monday, April 18, 2022, westbound Highway 8 traffic will be shifted to the eastbound lanes using a paved median crossover (crossovers are used to detour traffic from one carriageway to another). This traffic pattern is the same as the existing condition; only the merge has been shifted east.

Westbound Highway 8 will be reduced to one lane east of the 69 Street S.W. on ramp to allow time for all vehicles to merge before the crossover.

When one lane merges into another it’s called a zipper merge. Although it may feel frustrating and counter-intuitive, traffic will flow most quickly through the bottleneck if both lanes are used right up until the merge, and then vehicles take turns or alternate (like the teeth on a zipper). In other words, late merging coupled with taking turns will keep everybody moving. The Alberta Motor Association (AMA) estimates zipper merges can reduce congestion by up to 40 per cent! Their video explains more about why and how.

Please expect delays for short periods when the traffic shift is being implemented.

All work is weather dependant. 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.

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

There are 26 sign structures being installed on the north project. Half are cantilevered signs, meaning they have only a single base or support, and half are bridge structures with two bases on either side of the road.

So far, 12 of the 39 total foundations have been poured.