This funding is part of the accelerated capital maintenance and renewal totalling $2 billion that government announced on April 9 to get Alberta back to work.
“Fort McMurray and north central Alberta have been hard hit in recent years with natural disasters and the oil price collapse. These road and bridge projects will provide hundreds of jobs for Albertans, keep companies moving, and provide more value for taxpayers. We are taking action to fix our infrastructure now to get Albertans back to work.”
Dozens of road and bridge repair projects that will create jobs quickly will be underway in the next few months in the Fort McMurray and north central region, some of which include:
- Repaving 35 kilometres of Highway 2, between Highways 13 and 39.
- Repaving 17 kilometres of Highway 63, between north of Mariana Lake to south of Sand Tiger Lodge.
- Hangingstone Bridge Replacement on Highway 63.
- Repaving eight kilometres of Highway 2, on either side of Highway 616.
- Repaving 18 kilometres of Highway 16, on either side of Highway 947.
- Repaving 13 kilometres of Highway 16, between Highways 32 and 751.
- Culvert replacement on Highway 16 near Wildwood.
- Preventative maintenance work to extend the lifespan of Highway 19.
- Culvert replacement on Highway 39 near Warburg.
- Preventive maintenance work to extend the lifespan along Highway 40.
- Culvert replacement on Highway 647.
In addition, $60 million is available provincewide to repair potholes and complete critical safety measures.
These projects will bring jobs to the Fort McMurray and north central region where they are needed most, while improving driving conditions, safety, and extending the lifespan of highways and bridges.
Quick facts
- Alberta has a vast provincial highway network that includes more than 31,400 kilometres of highways (equivalent to nearly 64,000 lane kilometres), of which:
- almost 28,000 kilometres are paved roads
- almost 2,500 kilometres are four- and six-lane divided highways
- The provincial highway network includes almost 4,600 bridge structures, including bridges, overpasses and large-size culverts.
- Alberta Transportation paves about 900 kilometres of highway every year and rehabilitates or replaces about 50 bridges.