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The Alberta town of Cochrane has completed a long-awaited infrastructure upgrade project to address a traffic bottleneck in the eastern part of the community.
A celebration event on Friday marked the end of construction, which saw a two-lane, two-kilometre stretch of Highway 1A east of Centre Avenue to west of Fifth Avenue widened into a four-lane interchange.
Expanding the roadway took approximately two-and-a-half years, say city officials, during which long lines of cars were often backed up during rush hours.
“I think anyone who’s visited Cochrane over the last few years has complained to me,” said Mayor Jeff Genung.
“We don’t build a lot of highways … but they’re so needed and it feels good to be standing here and having one of them complete.”
The Highway 1A improvements project cost around $28 million dollars, said Genung.
Cochrane received $3.48 million for the project from the provincial government through the Municipal Stimulus program.
Other funding came from off-site levies — charges paid by developers to help municipalities afford to accommodate growth.
Population spike straining infrastructure
Mike Derricott, the community’s chief administrative officer, said a sharp uptick in new residents is putting pressure on the road network.
“You don’t really think of a community of Cochrane size having traffic problems,” he said. “But … with the growth that we’ve experienced, some of the infrastructure just didn’t keep up with that.”
Cochrane’s population jumped from 17,580 in 2011 to 32,199 in 2021, according to census data.
The Highway 1A improvements project is part of the town’s larger traffic plan, with work underway to widen Centre Avenue to improve downtown traffic flow.
Another major ongoing project will see a new interchange built at Highway 1A and Highway 22. That construction is expected to cost between $90 and $100 million, per the province.
“We’ve got a couple of other transportation infrastructure projects on the go [that are making] people are a little upset with us for delaying their commutes,” said Genung.
“[But] the need for them has grown … we’re going to be doing a lot more.”
Derricott expects the completion of the easterly Highway 1A project will drive more Calgary visitors to the community.
“In recent years, [Cochrane’s] become a place to avoid rather than a place to go because of the traffic,” he said.
“We hope to see some economic benefits with more people coming.”
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