City report brings forward new option to ease congestion on Terwillegar Drive

A new report could prompt the City of Edmonton to make a U-turn on long-promised plans to turn Terwillegar Drive into a freeway, after it revealed the city could save $900 million and years of construction by making it an expressway instead.

Both options presentedfor the TerwillegarDrive corridor betweenWhitemudDrive and AnthonyHendayDrive involve adding more lanes to ease traffic congestion, particularly at 40th Avenue.

A six-lane freeway would have free-flowing traffic, interchanges and a $1.2 billion price tag. It would also take 30 years to build.

The report offers a new option: an expressway. It would have intersections with traffic lightsandwould enable transit use and access for pedestrians and cyclists. It would cost $300 million and take about 10years to build. The plan would involve widening Terwillegar Drive to four lanes in each direction, with the potential to use one ofthe four as a dedicated transit lane.

Plans to improve Terwillegar Drive have been discussed since 2001.

Expressway would cost $300 million, city says

The reportsays public feedback received earlier this year showed support formaintaining all current direct access to TerwillegarDrive, as well as minimizing noise and traffic diversion through neighbourhoods.

The expressway would maintain current access andaccommodate future transit and pedestrian options, the report says.

"If there was an opportunity to integrate bike lanes or some kind of shared use path, that was something they were interested in being able to see," said JasonMeliefste, the city's manager of infrastructure, planning and design.

"An expressway provides a better opportunity to be able to do that, as opposed to a freeway. Not many sidewalks along Whitemud Drive today, but certainly along many expressways within the city of Edmonton."

Meliefstesaidan expressway would be similar to91st Street, Stony Plain Road, 100th Avenue or Manning Drive.

TurningTerwillegarDrive into a freeway would involve eight stages of construction, estimated to end in 2050.

Building the expressway would involve three stages of construction, ending in 2030.

The city has not yet made a decision regarding either option, and council will discuss both of them on Oct. 2.

City administration will also gather more public input this fall.

'I would say this is a very good solution'

Terwillegar Drive runs through Ward 9, one of the fastest growing areas of Edmonton.

Coun.Tim Cartmellsays he's on board with the option of turning Terwillegar Drive into an expressway.

Some residents in the area have been waiting 30 years to see traffic congestion issues dealt with, he said with an added30 years for construction of the freeway he'd rather see shovels in the ground soon.

"We see through this report and through some of the options presented that there is a path to see action finally happen on this corridor," he said.

"We have the benefit of an option here that will achieve all of those goals but at less than 25 per cent of the overall cost.

"I would say this is a very good solutionthat we really need to think about."