Project Update - West Calgary Ring Road

November 25, 2022

What’s Happening in Traffic This Week

Daily Lane Closures on Trans-Canada Highway

Starting Tuesday, November 29 and ending Friday, December 2, 2022, there will be intermittent inside (median) lane closures each day on the Trans-Canada Highway from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. between Old Banff Coach Road and Stoney Trail.

Winter Driving

Winter driving can be frustrating, especially through a construction zone. Please drive with caution and be patient if you get stuck behind a slow-moving vehicle.

Visit alberta.ca for more information about safer winter driving.

*The South project contractor clears snow from Old Banff Coach Road S.W.*

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.

Guardrail Installation

Roadside barrier systems such as guardrails are designed to redirect vehicles and shield motorists from natural and man-made hazards along the edge of highways and ramps. Their primary purpose is to reduce collision severity. They are used in areas where a vehicle striking the barrier system would be more forgiving than striking roadside hazards.

Across much of the North project, a variety of roadside guardrails and barriers are being installed. One of the most common types of guardrail is called a w-beam, named after the shape of the rail.

*The shape of the guardrail resembles the letter ‘w’*

*Recently installed guardrail is inspected to confirm it is level*

Girders Up on Second-to-Last Bridge

The South project reached another milestone with girders installed on the bridge separating traffic merging and exiting between Highway 8 and 17 Avenue S.W. Each of the four girders is approximately 55m long (about the length of two tennis courts), 2.4m high and 68,000kg (or 150,000lbs).

*Two cranes lift the first girder from the truck*

*The second girder is manoeuvred into place*

*Looking southeast at the third girder installed*

*Each girder is about the length of two tennis courts (~55m)*

Stormwater Outlet Control Structures

The fundamental function of the modern stormwater management system is to control the flow of runoff. More specifically, a stormwater management system slows down the flow of runoff and by doing so, mitigates most of the negative impacts from stormwater most of the time.

Slowing the flow of runoff provides several benefits:

Improves the quality of the stormwater re-entering rivers and streams by allowing sediment to settle to the bottom of the storm system
Reduces erosion by capturing and directing the flow of water runoff
Reduces the likelihood and severity of flooding by controlling the rate stormwater runoff is released into rivers and streams

Outlet control structures are one of the ways to control the flow of stormwater runoff. These large concrete boxes are installed on the downstream side of a stormwater pond and typically use an internal weir to control the amount of water leaving the pond.

*This graphic from the* *Philadelphia Water Department* *shows how the amount of water being released is controlled by a weir plate inside an outlet control structure*

*The weir plate is visible inside this outlet control box on the North project*

The inlet and outlet pipes are connected to a control structure on the South project