In an announcement from Fort Saskatchewan Wednesday, Premier Ed Stelmach says the final leg of Edmonton's Anthony Henday Drive is moving forward.
"The vision to build the Edmonton Ring Road began more than 40 years ago," said Stelmach. "We committed to finishing this very important piece of highway infrastructure, and that's exactly what we're doing."
The province will use a public-private partnership (P3) model to build this portion of Anthony Henday Drive from Manning Drive to Whitemud Drive east.
As a first step, the province says a request for qualifications has been issued, and that process can take up to three months.
The province explains the project involves 27 kilometres of a six and eight-lane divided roadway, eight interchanges, nine flyovers, two river structures, and 47 total bridge structures.
"The final leg of the Edmonton ring road will be Alberta's single largest highway construction project to date," said Minister of Transportation Luke Ouellette.
Wednesday's announcement is welcome news for motorists who rely on the Yellowhead.
Wow Factor Desserts ships five truckloads of cake everyday from its Sherwood Park headquarters, but traffic on the Yellowhead can often slow them down.
"One of the biggest things for us in getting our cakes out is how fast can we get it to our customer. The Yellowhead is their prime area of transport, so anything that can avoid the Yellowhead at this point would be good," said Chris Samson with Wow Factor Desserts.
The province says construction would start in the summer of 2012 and finish by fall 2016.
Previously, the province had set a goal of completing the Edmonton Ring Road by 2015, but according to officials, the slow economy has resulted in pushing the project completion date a year later.
The province says it will select a contractor by early 2012, and by that time, the cost of the project should be made public.
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With files from Sonia Sunger
