The province of Alberta has awarded a contract to Carmacks to widen Highway 40 in and near the city of Grande Prairie.
Work will begin soon on the US$76.12 million project, according to a press release from Vinci Canada, parent company of Eurovia Canada of which Carmacks is a subsidiary.
It covers widening a 9.2km section of the road, also called the Bighorn Highway, from a two-lane to a four-lane dual carriageway, building a three-span steel bridge over the Wapiti River and a pedestrian bridge to allow residents access to nearby O’Brien Provincial Park. Upgrades include installation of improved LED road lighting and a truck inspection station.
According to Vinci, Carmacks will implement an environmental construction operations plan. Such plans include protection of nesting birds before starting earthworks, erosion control measures and turbidity monitoring of waterways during construction.
The project is being cost-shared by the local and provincial governments following an agreement last year.
Grande Prairie, with a population of around 65,000, is 450km northwest of the provincial capital Edmonton. Highway 40 is the main provincial road to Grande Prairie and runs to the town of Grande Cache and Jasper National Park. It is also part of the shortest fully paved route to Alaska from the US and sees many American vacationers during the summer.
The provincial government has noted that traffic on Highway 40 has increased by around 70 per cent in the past five years to 10,000 vehicles daily.
