County residents were all smiles Monday as they got their first look at the proposed Cardiff interchange, one many hope will mean an end to a deadly intersection.
County residents gathered at Morinville's Community Cultural Centre for an information session on the proposed Highway 2 – Cardiff Road interchange. The overpass, announced by the province last June, is meant to replace the intersection that currently exists between those two roads.
County and town officials have called for an interchange at this location for years. The intersection is often clogged by drivers turning left off Cardiff to go south to St. Albert — a move that means sprinting across two lanes of high-speed traffic and has lead to numerous crashes, injuries and deaths.
"There's been many a time where I've been coming home from work and I've had to slam on my brakes [here]," said Leah Hogg, a long-time resident of Morinville who works in St. Albert.
The intersection is also a pain for local businesses, said Sean Strang, a town resident who works for Garneau Manufacturing. His company produces big, heavy steel parts that have to be shipped on long semi-trucks, many of which use the intersection.
"When you're in a large truck pulling over 60,000 pounds with 100 feet [of trailer] behind you, it's just an absolute nightmare," he said. "They often have to bring traffic to a standstill to get loads in or loads out."
A bridge, a loop and a circle
Project manager Sheldon Hudson said Al-Terra Engineering is now working on a replacement intersection that will eliminate the "conflict point" where people turning left off Cardiff Road have to deal with Highway 2 and its traffic volume of about 10,000 vehicles a day.
The plan is to take Cardiff Road and run it up and over Highway 2, allowing north-south and east-west traffic to flow without interruption.
The roughly $38 million project was originally proposed as a diamond-shaped configuration of four ramps and an overpass similar to the one at Hwy. 37 and Hwy. 2., Hudson said. They've since added a loop to the northwest corner so that drivers headed west on Cardiff Rd. can go south to St. Albert without having to stop or cross an opposing lane of traffic.
A roundabout has also been added to the intersection of Cardiff Road and 100 Street. This intersection is currently a three-way stop, but Hudson said that won't be able to handle future traffic. Instead of using traffic lights, his team has gone with a roundabout, which should mean smoother traffic flow with fewer collisions.
South Glens residents have raised concerns about noise from this intersection, which is close to their homes. Hudson said landscaping and a ban on retarder brakes in the region could dampen the sound, and is working with town staffers on a solution. The roundabout should also help, he added, as it will reduce the number of starts and stops made by traffic.
Hudson said he hoped to have the interchange design finished by next spring with construction taking about two years.
Once construction begins, Hudson said, Cardiff Rd. travellers will be diverted around the overpass site along a new road that hooks into 100 Street and crosses Highway 2.
"This will be quite a congested area," he said, so residents will have to drive carefully.
Hogg said she liked what she saw. "All the congestion, all the near misses, all the deaths that have happened here — it's going to stop."
Questions on the interchange should go to Hudson at 780-577-4320.
