Highway 11 – from Highway 22 to Township Road 390

Overview

In summer 2020, the twinning of Highway 11 (David Thompson Highway) between Rocky Mountain House and Sylvan Lake was announced. The David Thompson Highway leads to some of the most breathtaking scenery in Canada and is a popular route for the tourism industry. Twinning this highway will improve access for Albertans and visitors.

Highway 11 is an important route for the movement of people, goods, and services. It connects national parks and communities with over 5,000 residents, including Red Deer, Sylvan Lake and Rocky Mountain House. CIMA Canada Inc. conducted the functional planning study on behalf of Alberta’s government.

The project will be built in phases as shown on the Highway 11 twinning webpage. The sections closer to Sylvan Lake, Projects C and D, and closer to Rocky Mountain House, Project A, will be twinned first. The remaining section, Project B – the largest and the focus of this planning study – will be twinned after the first 3 projects. Projects C and D have already been completed and Project A is currently in design phase. See the attached map of the study area.

The study:

• assessed existing conditions and constraints along the corridor
• identified issues and concerns for people whose property is adjacent to the highway
• examined the highway’s role and performance in the provincial road network
• considered future needs and developed a plan to meet those needs

The study investigated the impacts of proposed changes to the highway, including land, environmental resources and utilities, among others.

Timeline

The Functional Planning study is complete. Approved functional plans were developed based on technical assessments and feedback provided by stakeholders during the various engagement sessions. Detailed design is expected to begin in Fall 2024.

Benefits

The study addressed capacity issues and makes recommendations to support safe and efficient travel, including safe highway access as this area continues to grow and develop.

Community engagement

Public open house and stakeholder events were held in Condor (June 22, 2022) and Rocky Mountain House (June 23, 2022).  Additional stakeholder meetings were held in January 2023 for stakeholders along the south alignment options that were being considered. A second public open house was held on April 5, 2023 in Sylvan Lake with final stakeholder meetings held in September 2023.

Community engagement materials can be found in the Resources section.

Resources

• Approved Functional Plans
• Stakeholder and Public Engagement: What We Heard
• April 2023 Open house materials:
  • Open house boards
  • Comment Sheet
  • Figure 9 – Alignment Options
  • Figure 10 – Twinning Concept Existing Highway 11
  • Figure 11 – Ultimate Freeway Concept
• January 2023 Stakeholder meeting:
  • Figure 8 – Alignment Options
• June 2022 Open house materials:
  • What We Heard Report
  • Open house boards
  • Presentation slides
  • Project information sheet
  • Comment sheet
  • Figure 1 – Existing conditions
  • Figure 2 – Passing lanes
  • Figure 3 – Twinning
  • Figure 4 – Couplet concept
  • Figure 5 – North couplet
  • Figure 6 – New alignment
  • Figure 7 – Interim expressway
• Highway 11 Functional Planning Study Fact Sheet
• Improving David Thompson Highway and creating jobs

Contact

For information about Highway 11, contact Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors (Central Region):

Phone: 403-340-4867
Toll free: dial 310-0000 before the number (in Alberta)
Email: [email protected]

Address:
4th Floor Provincial Building
4920 51 Street
Red Deer, Alberta  T4N 6K8