A section of the QEII on the city’s south side will see major changes in the coming years, as officials with all three levels of government announced a multi-million dollar project, to streamline the transport of goods out of Alberta.
On Friday, federal Minister of International Trade, and the Asia-Pacific Gateway Ed Fast, provincial Transportation Minister Ric McIver and Edmonton’s Mayor Stephen Mandel were on hand to announce the QEII Highway and 41 Avenue SW Intermodal Access project.
The project is made up of a number of elements, including a new traffic interchange over the highway at 41 Avenue SW, realigning the highway and adding more lanes between Ellerslie Road and 41 Avenue, and a number of other related infrastructure upgrades.
In addition, the Canadian Pacific Rail yard will move farther south.
The project is slated to cost a total of $205 million – with Ottawa contributing $75 million, the provincial government putting in $57 million and the City of Edmonton adding $72.5 million.
Construction will be taken care of by the city – and work on the highway is expected to begin in July, with construction wrapping up in 2016.
The federal government said the project makes up part of Canada’s Asia-Pacific Gateway – designed to help transport goods, such as oil, from Alberta to international markets.
Friday’s announcement comes nearly six years after Ottawa announced a similar project in May 2007, but the price has gone up – it was originally slated to cost a total of $150 million, but no construction date was set.
