The province has acquired land for a future interchange between Ray Gibbon Drive and Villeneuve Road but construction is nowhere on the horizon as the City of St. Albert is still working on buying the land it needs to build stage three of the future bypass.
Alberta Transportation has purchased two parcels of land totalling 33.7 hectares just north of Villeneuve Road, where it will intersect a future section of Ray Gibbon Drive, confirmed spokesperson Heather Kaszuba.
City council had directed staff to negotiate land purchases for the third stage of Ray Gibbon Drive, said Mayor Nolan Crouse. The stage is expected to cost about $43 million in land and construction. Planning work for the third stage is mostly complete, but Crouse said he won’t OK construction until he has a signed agreement from the province committing to reimbursing the city immediately upon completion.
“What we don’t want to do is build it and not get the money for 10 years,” Crouse said. “We’ve been a lot of years trying to get this thing done and I’m cautious.”
The province has agreed to cover the costs associated with building the road beyond arterial standards to provincial highway standard.
“Once we have the land in our hands, we will then work with the province on the next part of this, which is the funding strategy,” Crouse said.
Kaszuba confirmed that the province won’t provide money until after construction is completed. She had no timeline to offer.
“The project is currently in the planning stages but it’s not in the three-year construction plan,” she said.
In June the province gave the city $14.3 million to cover the cost associated with taking the existing Ray Gibbon Drive legs to highway standard. Stages one and two cost a combined $45.9 million and opened in 2007. The province had previously committed about $7 million to the project through various grants.
The city is working with the land developer to try to secure lands for stage three, said Larry Galye, the city’s project manager.
“We’re still in the negotiation stages on that,” Galye said.
Construction could begin next year if the province came through with funding, he said.
“We are having discussions with the province to see what options there are,” he said.
