Despite bad weather, there is relief in sight for drivers along St. Albert Trail as most of the projects on the busy commuter route should be finished soon.
Work on both the 118 Avenue interchange and the intersection at 137 Avenue are both set to be finished sometime next month, according to officials with the City of Edmonton.
The city announced Wednesday that several major projects including Scona Road, the 23 Avenue interchange and the Quesnell Bridge will all be completed this year.
Along with those, the two major projects that have been tying up traffic on St. Albert Trail are also set to finish up.
“We are aiming to have them pretty much done by the end of next month,” said Paul Szczepanski, director of arterial roads with the City of Edmonton.
Weather has not been kind to construction crews this summer, with several days of heavy rains in both June and July. Weather hurt construction, but crews have found ways to adapt and have been working full speed since the weather improved, Szczepanski said.
“When we did start getting some good weather after the June-July monsoons, contractors started increasing their hours,” he said.
He said they also adapted construction methods to deal with the wet weather.
This included weekend and evening hours to ensure as much work as possible was getting done.
The construction schedule is not universally rosy for local residents as one major project is on the edge of being delayed to next year. The complete reconstruction of 167 Avenue, from 127 Street to 142 Street, could now be delayed by the weather.
“It is looking like there is some opportunity to have it opened in mid- to late November, but that is very dependent on weather,” Szczepanski said.
Because the project is a complete reconstruction, it is more susceptible to wet weather, he said.
