Two months of sunshine has helped construction crews on Anthony Henday Drive pave their way to success, with completion of the northwest section scheduled for Nov. 1.
"We are likely going to celebrate the opening on Nov. 1, and if the good weather continues, we may open a few days prior to that," said deputy project manager Mark Basher.
Basher, with the Flatiron Graham Parsons consortium, admitted that this year's hard winter and wet spring meant a slowdown in work, but now the final finishing touches are scheduled with completion right on target.
"The northwest leg portion, which is the portion that affects St. Albert, began in August 2008 with completion scheduled to take place in the fall of 2011. We're on target," he said.
All the green road signs are already up and most of the paving west of Campbell Road is now complete except for one small section where the Henday goes underneath St. Albert Trail.
"St. Albert Trail had to stay on the same ground. We couldn't lift it any more, so there had to be a huge excavation there," Basher explained, adding that fill for that big hole is being brought in from the Manning Drive leg of the road.
"The fill is from milled asphalt that is coming from the detour on the Manning that was completed in 2009. We're going to reuse it for a special foundation in a place where we had to dig deep," he said.
Basher expected traffic to resume more normally on Campbell Road in the next week. Once again, Campbell Road will be four lanes wide.
"We still have some work on the southbound lanes. There'll be one lane on the bridge for both directions of traffic," he said.
Work is still being finished near the Ray Gibbon Drive and 137 Avenue intersection.
"This coming weekend, all 10 bridges at Yellowhead Trail will be opened all at once and we'll begin to remove the south portion of the old 184 Street," Basher said.
St. Albert drivers will have new lights on top of Campbell Road, at St. Albert Trail where the ramp allows drivers access from the Henday bridge, and on 184 Street.
"You have to have lights on the Trail because of the ramps and it's a T-intersection," Basher said.
Basher agreed that motorists will now have more stops on the St. Albert Trail as they approach the city. Still, he sounded almost buoyant as he talked about the end of this lengthy project and anticipated that drivers will enjoy the new road he helped to build.
"Life in St. Albert will be better next year. I know the road is complicated, but it will all make sense once it is opened," he said.
Anthony Henday Drive will be complete to Manning Drive.
"In November, you'll be able to drive all the way to Manning Freeway. The southeast portion of the Henday, which will cross the Saskatchewan River, is out for tender now and is scheduled to be completed in 2016," Basher said.
