Photo by Shaun penner

By Liam Verster

HWY 40

Coalition for Safer Alberta Roads excited for Highway 40 twinning, still encourages safe driving

Feb 28, 2020 | 1:57 PM

The Coalition for Safer Alberta Roads is thrilled by the recent news of the project that will see the twinning 19 kilometres of Highway 40, south of the City of Grande Prairie.

A joint partnership between the MD of Greenview, the County of Grande Prairie, and the Alberta Government will see the project funded. The MD is the only one to provide figures on the funding at this time, promising up to $60-million over two years. During the Budget 2020 release yesterday, the Province did say the project was included in the Capital Plan, but didn’t mention figures.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the Coalition, Debbie Hammond, is really excited and happy to see the levels of government working together to fund this project.

She says this highway is notorious, and though she couldn’t provide any recent collision or fatality statistics, she does say there are issues on this stretch of road.

“We know that there’s lots of traffic, that data is available. Since 2016 to last year, traffic volumes on Highway 40 have either been increasing, or remain static. So they have not declined, by any stretch of the imagination.

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“And so I think, intuitively, the people who live, and drive, and make a living, and play in the region, and they use that highway, we all know there’s issues, because we’re here, we’re having a discussion of Highway 40, it comes up a lot. I don’t think we need to use the data to say ‘We’ve got a problem.'”

She adds that now that the County, the MD and the Province are stepping up to pay for the twinning, it’s important for drivers to be responsible when behind the wheel, on any road, not just Highway 40.

“Are you distracted? Are you impaired? Are you fatigued? Are you taking unnecessary risks because you want to get home at the end of the day? You see a lineup of ten trucks and you go to pass them even though it’s a double solid? I think that’s the conversation that has to start, and I think that’s where we have to focus our energies.”

She says it’s important for people to realize that even the best and safest highways in the world can be dangerous, especially if a driver is acting irresponsibly or taking unnecessary risks.

Hammond says there will also be a need for patience and compassion on the road when construction starts, as it will likely cause some disruption to traffic.

Along with the twinning of the highway, a foot bridge built over the Wapiti River, improved lighting will be installed, and intersections will be upgraded, which will all make the stretch of road safer for users. There will also be rest areas established along the highway.

Hammond says hopefully this twinning works, and eventually leads to more projects that improve the condition and quality of infrastructure in Alberta.

Construction on the project is expected to begin sometime this summer, though no exact dates have been set as of yet.