Calgary Stoney Trail [Ring Road]

[lubicon]

Originally Posted by Pegasus

The updated Green Line Route includes a new river crossing . . . https://secure.campaigner.com/CSB/Pu...d&acc=NTgxNDIw

Right. I should have stated no new road crossings.

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by lubicon

Right. I should have stated no new road crossings.

IIRC they were going to allow crossings for BRT lines and/or just buses. Stupid policy that I hope no longer actually exists.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Corndogger

IIRC they were going to allow crossings for BRT lines and/or just buses. Stupid policy that I hope no longer actually exists.

I'm curious to know why you think it's a stupid policy. Any new road crossing over the river would pretty wide, and a BRT/LRT crossing is going much smaller - I would guess 1/2 to 1/3 the size. That makes them less intrusive and less likely to encounter public resistance. Making it so new crossings can only be for mass transit seems like a great way to encourage more multi-modal travel options for people.

[OzzyCalgary]

I also don't really see a glaring spot along the Bow River where a new bridge crossing is needed. It seems like we have all the routes covered.

[s211]

Originally Posted by OzzyCalgary

I also don't really see a glaring spot along the Bow River where a new bridge crossing is needed. It seems like we have all the routes covered.

Going from memory, the city policy was crystalized the last time they looked at extending Sarcee Trail across the river (latter 90s or early 00s).

[Pegasus]

Originally Posted by OzzyCalgary

I also don't really see a glaring spot along the Bow River where a new bridge crossing is needed. It seems like we have all the routes covered.

Lots of opportunity to broaden some existing structures in the future though, like the City is currently doing with Crowchild Trail over the Bow. For example, Calf Robe bridge, Deerfoot near Anderson Road turn-off.

[gmc72]

Originally Posted by s211

Going from memory, the city policy was crystalized the last time they looked at extending Sarcee Trail across the river (latter 90s or early 00s).

Yeah, it was supposed to link up with Sarcee Trail on the north side. I remember that someone came around with a petition against the project. I was too young to sign at the time. Now there are some condos at the bottom of Sarcee trail, so it won't ever happen.

[toddlakes]

Originally Posted by gmc72

Yeah, it was supposed to link up with Sarcee Trail on the north side. I remember that someone came around with a petition against the project. I was too young to sign at the time. Now there are some condos at the bottom of Sarcee trail, so it won't ever happen.

This design reminds me of the Tuskons Bridge. We use some cool resources to find the historical value of bridges in the United States. These resources https://phdessay.com/free-essays-on/countries/ collaborate with students who need literary help. The main task of such resources is the search and processing of information. I read several essays on the creation of the Tucson Bridge in Virginia

[Cage]

Originally Posted by s211

Honest question: didn't Calgary have a moratorium on new river crossings?

Little known point: When the Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs retires, they are given two dogs instead of a gold watch. The two dogs are named Edmonton and Calgary, after Alberta's two largest cities. Therefore, even in retirement, the DM can continue to order around Edmonton and Calgary.

The province can pretty much do whatever it desires because the province has Crown prerogative powers. Cities don't enjoy the crown prerogative, a concept more commonly known as "cities are creatures of the province". The Canadian Constitution separates the Crown prerogative between federal and provincial governments, with the default being the federal government is the tie breaker.

When negotiating with any provincial or federal government, your side is always negotiating from a position of weakness. In this case, the City of Calgary can have a moratorium on new river crossings. The province can easily ignore that moratorium. City of Calgary has no choice but to accept the outcome.

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by Cage

Little known point: When the Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs retires, they are given two dogs instead of a gold watch. The two dogs are named Edmonton and Calgary, after Alberta's two largest cities. Therefore, even in retirement, the DM can continue to order around Edmonton and Calgary.

>snip<

but first you have to train them to respond to your commands, or they'll constantly ignore you

[Corndogger]

Some new photos of construction on the West leg.





This excavator can have up to 1,000 hp.

[craner]

^Thanks for posting those updates Cdogger - great to see them plowing ahead.

[Corndogger]

Some updates on the West leg.

[craner]

Thanks for posting the update - I like the way that graphic is laid out - very informative.
I came to get confirmation work was continuing and there you go.

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by craner

Thanks for posting the update - I like the way that graphic is laid out - very informative.
I came to get confirmation work was continuing and there you go.

I can't wait to see that big interchange complex completed.

I wonder how much longer it'll be before they award the South project contract for the West leg? Hopefully soon. The province keeps saying that infrastructure projects will be a priority to help us get out of this mess. In the U.S. there's talk of a fourth stimulus package that would be for infrastructure. Pelosi's pushing it but Trump also wants it--$2 trillion! We need to do that in Canada. With enough money involved Calgary could get a full Green Line built without compromises.

[Corndogger]

Here's some more update photos of the West leg of 201 along with some info on what they've done. They seem to be making great progress.

Bow River Bridge

This is looking up at the north bridge abutment.



Tower crane getting ready to lift wooden formwork into position.



North Project

As of March 31, nearly 500 piles have been installed for the 20 bridges on this project, totaling approximately 15,000 vertical meters.





Trans-Canada Highway/Valley Ridge Blvd NW Interchange



Trans-Canada Highway/Stoney Trail Interchange

The Trans-Canada Highway/Stoney Trail interchange is called a Systems Interchange, which provides free flow movements from one highway to another. This means that the ramps go over or under the intersecting roads rather than have signalized intersections.

The ramp from the future southbound Stoney Trail to eastbound Trans-Canada Highway has three bridges. In March, girders were installed for one of the bridges, and work is progressing on the second bridge taking the ramp over the Trans-Canada Highway.

[Corndogger]

Some rare info on the SW leg of 201.

Recycling the 37 Street SW / Glenmore Trail Bridge

In 2016, nearly 60 percent of waste heading to Canada’s landfills was from the industrial, commercial and institutional sector. Of that, about 12 percent is construction, renovation and demolition waste. Recycling construction waste benefits the environment by diverting waste from landfills and conserving non-renewable resources. It can also recover some costs by re-using or selling the recycled materials.

In 2010, a temporary interchange was built at 37 Street SW / Glenmore Trail to alleviate congestion until the Southwest Calgary Ring Road (SWCRR) could be built. The interchange was designed to align with the future SWCRR design and minimize waste. In February 2020, the bridge was demolished and several components were recycled.

• Concrete: All precast concrete girders and deck panels were processed on site to remove reinforcing steel and pre-stressed cable. The clean concrete was then trucked to three recycling facilities where it was crushed to be sold for road base.
  
• Steel: Bridge rails, reinforcing steel and pre-stressed cable were separated from the concrete, cleaned and trucked to metal recyclers. The metal recyclers further process the steel to meet specified dimensions before it is shipped to various foundries to be melted and re-used as manufacture pipe, reinforcing steel and other products.
  
• Asphalt: The asphalt from the bridge deck was milled and shipped to a stockpile on site to be used on temporary roads.

Start of the 37 Street S.W. Demolition



The first girder falls

[craner]

^Great to see this - thanks for posting.

One enticing tidbit from Kenny’s speech tonight:
“We will do more, including a huge new investment in job-creating infrastructure projects”.

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by craner

^Great to see this - thanks for posting.

One enticing tidbit from Kenny’s speech tonight:
“We will do more, including a huge new investment in job-creating infrastructure projects”.

It would be great if they invested a ton of money to upgrade and modernize Deerfoot. It would create a lot of jobs and I'm pretty sure people using the road would be willing to put up with delays in exchange for the end result and the shot in the arm to the economy.

[YYCguys]

Originally Posted by Corndogger

It would be great if they invested a ton of money to upgrade and modernize Deerfoot. It would create a lot of jobs and I'm pretty sure people using the road would be willing to put up with delays in exchange for the end result and the shot in the arm to the economy.

How is traffic on Calgary roads these days? If significantly reduced, now would be a great time to ramp up construction, safely, of course.