A preview of Edmonton's 2022 construction season: First big steps to be taken on Valley Line West and more

The final construction season of the city's four-year budget cycle will kick off a number of big projects.

On Friday, city officials revealed their plan for the season, including an estimated budget of $1.9 billion for some 250 projects. 

Crews this year are expected to work on more than 110 kilometres of local roadways and sidewalks, 10 neighbourhood renewal projects and more than a dozen park and playground projects, and finish five supportive housing projects. 

They'll also dig into some massive infrastructure endeavors, like Valley Line West, which is expected to take five to six years to complete, and the widening of 50 Street and building of an overpass between Sherwood Park Freeway and 90 Avenue. The latter aren't expected to be completed until 2026. The first steps on Capital Line South's extension will also be taken, although the line's construction isn't slated to start until late 2023. 

"There are some significant city-shaping projects that are happening and it's a reflection of the ambitious infrastructure agenda that council has," Adam Loughlin, the city's deputy manager of integrated infrastructure services, commented. 

As well, the first of two years of construction started in May on 124 Street. The blocks between 109A Avenue and 118 Avenue are due to get a new boulevard with trees, improved streetscaping and intersections, and road renewal. 

Jasper Avenue residents will soon see work start to replace Latta Bridge northeast of 91 Street, a sister project to the Kinnard Bridge rehabilitation. Latta Bridge will be finished in 2023.

ONGOING PROJECTS

Construction will resume this year on both Yellowhead Trail and Terwillegar Drive – as will the delays. Stage 1 of expanding the route to four lanes in each direction caused major delays in 2021. 

Laughlin promised the city was doing its best to minimize the impact felt by commuters. 

"You'll see larger traffic accommodation projects. So the 50 Street grade separation, we actually have built a detour road to accommodate the traffic while we build it.The utility work and some of the early work on Valley Line West, there's major adjustments to traffic patterns there," he pointed out. 

Laughlin reminded Edmontonians the city has a map that provides information about road closures, travel delays, and construction project schedules. 

Additionally, construction that began in 2021 on the Glenora Bridge rehabilitation, affecting traffic on 107 Avenue at Groat Road, is expected to be finished this year. 

So is the 103 Avenue Streetscape, where Friday's news conference was held. That project aims to enhance the block between 100 Street and 101 through new curbing, gutters and sidewalks, surface paving and landscaping, and new pedestrian traffic signals and street lights. 

"It's a smaller project in comparison to some of the others I mentioned," Laughlin said, "but the impact it will have is big and the benefits will spread beyond these two blocks."

The schedule mirrors previous years in the number of projects and dollars spent. The 2021 construction season totalled roughly $1 billion.