OLDS — The municipality is moving forward with two prominent intersection upgrades this year, operations director Scott Chant said recently.
The two projects are the installation of traffic lights and turning lanes at 70th Avenue and Highway 27 and construction of Olds’ first roundabout at Highway 2A and 68th Street, south of the cemetery.
The budget approved on Dec. 14, 2020 allocates $6 million for the roundabout and $1.4 million for the 70th Ave. and Highway 27 project.
The town was successful in obtaining a $3 million Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program) (STIP) grant for the 68th Avenue/Southeast Industrial Park intersection project.
The purpose of the roundabout is to provide secondary access into the Southeast Industrial Park, to allow for smoother traffic flow into town and accommodate future growth there.
During a recent council policies and priorities meeting, Chant said contracts for the 68th Street project “should just about be in contractors’ hands and ready to go.”
Late last year, council was told the 70th Avenue and Highway 27 project, estimated to cost a total of $1.4 million, will be primarily paid for by a $1.09 million Municipal Stimulus Program (MSP) grant.
Town officials had originally planned to complete that intersection in the next year or two, but are now able to do it sooner, thanks to that MSP grant.
Earlier, Chant said it makes sense to install traffic lights and ensure there’s a good flow of traffic there now because 70th Avenue already sees traffic from The Highlands development and from south and north of town.
He added that intersection is expected to become even busier when Rotary Athletic Park is fully utilized and traffic moves back and forth from the newly-completed Operations Centre, located north on 70th Avenue.
A traffic impact assessment was completed in 2017 for the northwest corner of town which includes Cornerstone, Rotary Athletic Park, Westview, and West Towne Developments.
It said the 70th Avenue and Highway 27 intersection requires traffic controls because the area has already begun to see increased development.
Chant said tenders for the 70th Avenue project closed the last week of April.
“We’re doing some valuations and making sure all the numbers line up and (communicating with) contractors, things like that,” he said.
Coun. Mary Anne Overwater asked for assurances that lights for turning lanes will be part of the 70th Avenue project.
"I think that is going to be a very, very busy intersection, going forward. And I would think you should put the lights in now, because the lanes are there," she asked.
“That would be a better option than having to go back and get permission and stuff like that.”
Chant said, "Yes, councillor Overwater. This intersection will be a full build-out of fully signaled, advance screen turn, exit laned. It’ll be basically to the utmost standard that a signalized intersection could be."
He said it will “sort of mirror” lights in place at the Cornerstone development.
