Major Deerfoot Trail upgrade work to begin next year
Work to improve the busy Calgary route is expected to wrap in 2027.
Major upgrades are coming to Calgary’s Deerfoot trail. – City of Calgary
Alberta plans to start work upgrading one of the province’s busiest roads, Deerfoot Trail, next year.
According to the province, 180,000 vehicles use Deerfoot Trail each day as the major north-south route through Calgary and as an important trade corridor for moving goods across the province. To improve the commutes of Calgarians, visitors and truckers, Alberta’s government is targeting key bottlenecks on Deerfoot Trail between Glenmore Trail and Anderson Road/Bow Bottom Trail in a large expansion project.
Officials say improvements to this section of Deerfoot Trail will enhance safety and, when completed, are expected to reduce driver commutes by about 15 per cent during peak morning travel hours and by about 22 per cent during peak evening travel hours. In total, the upgrades mean travellers will save about 900,000 hours a year, which will provide an annual economic boost of about $23 million.
The Deerfoot Trail expansion project will include:
- Improving the Bow Bottom Trail and Anderson Road, Southland Drive and Glenmore Trail interchanges.
- Seven new bridge structures at Anderson Road and Bow Bottom Trail, Bow River, Southland Drive and Glenmore Trail.
- Adding more lanes to Deerfoot Trail along the highway and through the Anderson Road/Bow Bottom Trails and Glenmore Trail Interchanges.
Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors has amended its existing public-private partnership procurement process to address critical improvements for this expansion. The process will continue with pre-qualified teams with the intention that the successful proponent will be selected and the contract will be awarded in spring 2023.
Construction is expected to begin in 2023 and be completed in 2027.
Editor’s note: This project was also featured in the “Project Updates” section of our newsletter.
