They say Edmonton has two seasons: winter and construction. The former arrived in dramatic, flurry fashion last weekend — which means the latter is now wrapped up for the year.
This year, the City of Edmonton said it managed more than 220 construction projects, although many of those are in various stages of development and 92 of them were in active construction in 2024. The city notes some are also multi-year projects.
Of those 92 projects under construction, 36 involved transportation, 26 were facilities projects, six were LRT expansion and renewal projects and 24 were work involving open spaces like parks.
“In 2024, crews were hard at work in every corner of the city on everything from large-scale transformational projects to necessary infrastructure renewal,” said Craig Walbaum, acting deputy city manager of the Integrated Infrastructure Services department.
“We’re building with purpose now to prepare for growth in the coming decades.”
The city’s $8-billion 2023-2026 capital budget includes $1.7 billion in infrastructure renewal over four years. Here are the highlights of the city’s 2024 construction season:
Terwillegar Drive expansion + Whitemud upgrades
Construction on Stage 2 of the Terwillegar Drive expansion continued this year, including work to widen Whitemud Drive where the two freeways intersect and rehabilitate the nearby Rainbow Valley Bridge, which reduced traffic on the Whitemud down to two lanes in each direction on one bridge.
The city said early work on Stage 3 of the project, which will see major upgrades at Anthony Henday Drive, will begin spring 2025.
The project is anticipated to be finished in 2028.
Yellowhead Trail freeway conversion
The city said there was significant progress on the Yellowhead Trail freeway conversion this year.
Construction on the 156th Street to St. Albert Trail segment was substantially completed in 2024, along with the Fort Road widening project.
Fort Road between 66th Street and Yellowhead Trail is now at full capacity, after the widened road reopened in August. It has three lanes for northbound and southbound traffic.
The city said a lot of work was done along the Yellowhead between 156th Street and St. Albert Trail, where three lanes of traffic now flow in each direction with a posted speed limit of 80 km/h — up from 70 km/h before the freeway work began.
There are new, dedicated, one-way service roads in the eastbound and westbound directions to access businesses along the Yellowhead, along with St. Albert Trail, 142 Street, 149 Street, 156 Street and adjacent communities.
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50th Street widening and railway grade separation
In September, the northbound 50th Street overpass between Sherwood Park Freeway and 90th Avenue opened to both northbound and southbound traffic.
The city said this marks a significant step toward reducing traffic congestion at the rail crossing, where before drivers could be stuck waiting long stretches of time while trains blocked the road.
Work on the southbound overpass is now underway and the city said the project is expected to be completed by 2026.
LRT expansions
This was the third year of major construction along the 14-kilometre Valley Line West LRT extension from downtown to Lewis Farms in the west end.
A major milestone this season is the reopening of the new Stony Plain Road bridge and Stony Plain Road between 131 and 139 streets.
The city said there’s also been significant progress on the LRT bridge crossing Anthony Henday Drive in the west end, and the elevated guideway along 87 Avenue near West Edmonton Mall and the Misericordia Hospital.
Early work on the Capital Line south extension (Phase 1 from Century Park to Ellerslie Road) is anticipated to be completed this year, the city said.
To prepare for the construction of the LRT underpass, a major lane shift is in place at the 23 Avenue and 111 Street intersection. Major construction on the 4.5-kilometre LRT extension will begin in 2025.
Neighbourhood renewal
This year, the city said it reconstructed about 73 km of residential roads and alleys as part of neighbourhood renewal work, along with 57 km of sidewalks and 12 km of active transportation infrastructure.
Mill Creek Pool
Work also wrapped up this season on the $7-million Mill Creek Pool rehabilitation project.
The pool had been closed the previous four years – first, due to the pandemic shutting down all pools, but then Mill Creek remained closed as it required much-needed work to bring it up to modern codes, and the city wasn’t able to get to the rehab work until 2022.
The pool reopened in July, and the city said it is now more accessible and has an extended lifespan.
Blatchford neighbourhood
The city said the ongoing work to transform the former City Centre airport into a residential neighbourhood is underway.
More than 40 per cent of the Blatchford site has either been developed by the city, is under development, or is in the planning and development stage, the city said.
Almost all of that land has either been sold to homebuilders, has a sale agreement in place, or has active builder interest.
More than 250 units have been completed or are currently under construction with another almost 800 units planned, the city said.
Warehouse Park
Work is underway to convert several former downtown surface parking lots into a park.
Warehouse Park will cover 1.47 hectares of land — the size of over two football fields — on a large parcel of land between 106 Street and 108 Street and Jasper Avenue to 102 Avenue.
The city said the plans will include open spaces, a public washroom, tobogganing hill, an off-leash dog park, a community space, a playground and an outdoor exercise area.
Construction on the new park began in May and the project is expected to cost $44.8 million.
This season, crews completed utility work and began construction on a pavilion. The project is anticipated to be finished late next year.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
