A troublesome intersection on Highway 2 will be converted to a full interchange, Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette announced Monday.
Standing in Morinville council chambers alongside local MLA Ken Kowalski and Mayor Lloyd Bertschi, Ouellette announced the province would build a new full interchange complete with an overpass of Highway 2 at the Cardiff Corner intersection just south of the community.
Bertschi said it was a great announcement and Morinville was looking to have anything done to make travelling through the area safer.
"We would have taken anything to make it safer and certainly the overpass addresses that in spades so it is a great day."
Sturgeon County Mayor Don Rigney echoed those accolades, saying the interchange is a great investment in the region.
"We all want our families to come home safe, I have even had some near misses at that intersection and I have certainly seen plenty, so it is a tremendous announcement."
Ouellette did not announce a budget for the project, hoping to create more competition in the bidding process, but promised construction would begin later this year and would be completed by late 2013.
"Just walk away understanding that it is expensive," joked Kowalski.
He said the contract will likely be announced next February or March.
The interchange is designed as a full diamond with an overpass over the highway. As part of the project, 100th Street will have to be re-aligned, moving it closer to the South Glens neighbourhood.
The re-aligned Cardiff Road will intersect with the northbound exit from Highway 2, eliminating the current situation where traffic comes off the highway onto Cardiff Road before turning left on to 100 Street.
Long simmering
Kowalski said the intersection has been a constant issue for people in the region and he is pleased to see it getting done.
Bertschi said improvements for the intersection have been the first item for discussion with officials from Alberta Transportation for a long time. He said he has also called Kowalski any time there was a major accident there to remind him of the problem.
Kowalski said Bertschi has not been the only one pushing for this upgrade.
"Between the mayor, my daughter-in-law, my son and my own usage, it is probably a couple of times a month where people say to me, 'When are you going to do something?'"
Ouellette said the province considered other options that would have gradually led to a full interchange, but he didn't believe any of them addressed safety sufficiently, so he asked the department to find the money for this interchange. He also noted the rising traffic volumes on the road made it necessary.
"I asked our departmental officials to really dig deep and maybe find some other jobs that could wait and get this one and do the full interchange off the bat."
The province is currently finishing a functional alignment study of a future St. Albert bypass, which will link Highway 2 with Ray Gibbon Drive and the Anthony Henday.
According to Martin Dupuis with the ministry, that study is nearing completion but there is no firm timetable for it and once completed, the province will have to consult more with the public.
Safety concern
Morinville RCMP Staff Sgt. said the intersection sees a lot of traffic and has seen several accidents, but he doesn't have specific number in how it compares to other spots in the county.
"There is a lot of traffic that goes through there and high-speed traffic," he said. "It is a busy intersection there is no doubt."
He said getting across the two lanes of traffic can be difficult and people sometimes seem to have trouble seeing when it is clear. He recommended drivers simply take their time and make sure they can get across before they go.
"The biggest thing is caution before anything else, make your you have enough time and space and you might have to be patient and wait."
