The permanent closure of the CP Rail crossing at Fourth Avenue is scheduled for the week of Jan. 20.
Cochrane drivers can anticipate a change in traffic flow through the downtown core with the opening of the new crossing at Centre Avenue.
According to Rick Deans, manager of infrastructure for the Town of Cochrane, the Fourth Avenue location was always intended to be a temporary solution and the new Centre Avenue locale will result in improved traffic flow and better access to services and downtown businesses, including those opening on the Quarry site.
“As most Cochranites have witnessed, the Fourth Ave. railway intersection by Dodge and Shoppers does not function well. It was always intended to be closed eventually, but growth and development occurred faster at that location than the remediation and construction opportunity for the Centre Ave. project to be complete.”
Businesses along Fourth Avenue will remain accessible via the Fifth Avenue crossing.
Deans said that the town is now in a position to go ahead with the completion of the project, which is part of the ‘Centre Avenue extension project’, approved under the Building Canada grant-funding program as part of the Quarry site stimulus.
The entire project is budgeted at $11.3 million, which will be shared between federal and provincial funding sources.
While Deans said the change in railway crossings would help improve the flow of traffic through the downtown, Cochrane is constrained by CP Rail guidelines, which only allows for three railway crossings in town; other constraints faced by Cochrane drivers include the Bow River and highways.
Deans said that the town recently received news that the province will split the cost for installing a set of traffic lights at the long-congested location where Centre Ave. meets Highway 1A (at the bottom of Cochrane Big Hill).
While a start date of when this project is yet to be determined, 2014 is a goal.
“We have started the design process with Alberta Transportation and hope to have this ready and construct as soon as possible. Both Alberta Transportation and the town recognize this as a priority project and are managing it with a sense of urgency.”
According to a recent press release from the Town of Cochrane: “The Town of Cochrane is committed to providing as much advance warning as possible to the community using advertising, roadside signage and the Town of Cochrane website, Facebook and Twitter.”
Visit cochrane.ca for more.
