Terwillegar Drive Expansion at risk in budget deliberations: councillor
A south Edmonton councillor says the ongoing Terwillegar Drive Expansion is at risk as local politicians look for ways to save money during tight budget deliberations.
In a blog post on Thursday, Ward pihêsiwin Coun. Tim Cartmell wrote "it has been suggested by some of my Council colleagues that the Terwillegar Drive project be reduced in scope or halted."
The project was approved in 2019 and construction started last year.
"To stop now, it just doesn’t make sense," resident Dave Rumbold told CTV News on Friday. "The areas where the construction has happened has made a big difference. The bottlenecks have been moving down to where the construction is continuing."
Terwillegar Drive is being converted into an expressway in three phases, with Phase 1 including wider roads, improved intersections, bus lanes and a shared-use path.
In his blog post, Cartmell said "some Councillors have suggested that improvements to the ramps that connect Whitemud to Terwillegar should be eliminated."
Cartmell says the current ramp is "profoundly unsafe" and called on "ticked off" residents to write to other councillors to keep the project in the budget.
Roughly $40 million is needed for the next phase, about $4 million a year on a $3.4 billion budget, according to Cartmell.
The next phase is slated to cost $142 million, according to Building Edmonton.
"If you’re contemplating spending more time to save money that will only be consumed by inflation while you take the time to redesign, I think that’s penny-wise and pound-foolish," Cartmell told CTV News on Friday.
"I don’t want to talk about 2019 anymore. I want to talk about 2023. I want to get to talking about pragmatic climate change, I want to talk about building better transportation transit and roadway networks."
The Terwillegar Drive Expansion was not discussed during the three-day public budget hearings earlier this week, and there are no official proposals to change plans yet.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.