Bridge work slows highway traffic
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Northbound Hwy 2 traffic backs up as it approaches single-lane construction work on a rail bridge north of the Hwy 11A overpass Wednesday.
Officials with Alberta Transportation say they’re doing the best they can to balance people’s desire to leave the city this long weekend with the need to do repairs on Hwy 2.
Repairs to the bridge over the railway north of Red Deer will be temporarily halted from noon on Friday to 6 a.m. on Tuesday to accommodate holiday travellers.
Repairs to the bridge have reduced traffic to one lane in each direction and have caused some traffic jams during rush hours.
“We had hoped that more people would avoid the repairs and would use something like (Hwy) 2A,” said Randy Shalagan, regional bridge manager with Alberta Transportation. “But it doesn’t seem to have worked out that way.”
Shalagan said people have been waiting as long as 30 minutes to get across the bridge.
“Our main problem is that people are not coming to the bridge in the right lane,” he said. “That means people are cutting over at the last minutes and that’s causing more delays.”
The lane closures will still be in effect today.
“We’re trying to get the work done,” said Alberta Transportation spokesperson Trent Barcanz when asked why the lanes weren’t opened starting today. “We know it will be busy but we have to find a balance.”
Shalagan said the time was chosen based on traffic patterns for the area.
“We looked at traffic data and decided that the times we chose would be the most beneficial to drivers,” he said.
Following the long weekend, the lanes will be closed sporadically until the end of May so smaller repairs can be done.
Those closures will only occur during non-peak hours, said Shalagan.
Motorists are asked to use caution in the area and obey all signs and flag people. Fines for speeding through construction zones when workers are present are doubled.
Contact Ashley Joannou at ajoannou@reddeeradvocate.com
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Posted by: Cin
Date: May-15-2008
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Posted by: bt
Date: May-15-2008
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