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Road work ahead, expect delays – Metro US

Road work ahead, expect delays

Summer’s almost here — and in Calgary that means one thing: Road construction.

One major project that started yesterday is the bridge deck replacement on southbound Deerfoot Trail at the Ogden bridge, according to Alberta Transportation’s Trent Bancarz.

“We get winter about half the year — you can only do this work maybe May to October,” said Bancarz.

Jackhammers will be tearing up the entire surface, right to the bridge girders, and an entire new concrete platform will be poured in the $2.1-million project. Regular maintenance work for a bridge of this sort, Bancarz said.

“Bridge decks only last so long, and that bridge is probably upwards of 35 or 40 years old now.”

“It’s kind of like the shingles on a house. After a while you just gotta replace them.”

More than 130,000 cars per day roll along this stretch of Deerfoot, according to Bancarz, and he said a combination of high volume and age of the structures warrants this type of major refurbishment.

Bancarz said a completed ring road, and parallel road improvements, will take some of the pressure off of Deerfoot Trail, bringing it back down to the 100,000 cars a day it was designed to handle.

“With those things, we’re certainly hoping Deerfoot will get some relief,” said Bancarz.

So, Calgarians need to brace for another summer of driving delays.

“You get this with any kind of construction — you’re going to have disruptions and delays,” said Bancarz.

“There’s no way to totally avoid that kind of thing.”

Construction is slated to last until Sept. 30. Motorists are encouraged to obey speed limits and watch for flag people.