Despite cold weather and a cloudy sky, nothing could rain on the celebration that the Town of Cochrane hosted to celebrate the completion of the Highway 1A Improvements Project, while also looking at the future of other projects around town on Oct. 13.
The project was approved by council in 2020, with construction starting in June 2021. The project was conducted in two phases for a total of $27.2 million, with the aim to streamline traffic flow along Highway 1A, and through the Highway 1A and Highway 22 interchange.
The upgrades took place along the section of Highway 1A running through Cochrane from east of Centre Ave to West of Fifth Ave. It widened lanes in the corridor, realigned Fourth Ave. to Fifth Ave., improved pedestrian pathways, and new access, parking, and turning lanes for businesses along Sixth Ave.
Minister and Airdrie-Cochrane MLA, Peter Guthrie, said it was great to work with the Town of Cochrane in bringing this project together.
“The Mayor and I have had a really good relationship,” Guthrie said “And early on in my mandate, sitting down with him, analyzing, [and] strategizing as to what traffic needs we have, how do we go forward, [and] how do we plan this.”
With several capital projects announced around the same time three years ago, Guthrie said that to finally see it all come to fruition feels pretty good.
“I live in town, I have to drive through here, it took me 40 minutes to get to my office which is a six- or seven-minute drive,” he said. “To get where we are now, that’s a good feeling.”
In terms of the future, Guthrie said that this will play a major role in upcoming projects. Looking north of town, he said the 567 and Highway 22 intersection is a dangerous area that is being looked into.
“In the last budget we did get dollars for a design of that intersection,” Guthrie said. “That’s going to turn into a traffic circle here. I’m really hoping that in the spring we can start construction and have that completed in 2024 by the fall.”
Southbound across the Bow River, Guthrie said that they are looking at and designing either a new bridge or an upgrade to the existing bridge.
“I’m, of course, pushing for a new bridge in that location,” he said. “Beyond that, we have to look at twinning, all the way up to and beyond that bridge right down to Highway 1.”
Darren Davidson, the regional director of southern Alberta for Alberta Transportation, said it feels really good to see the project come to fruition and already in use.
“We had a plan a number of years ago, we just couldn’t get it off the shelf, so I got to give the Town credit for taking the initiative, so we’re really happy,” Davidson said.
In terms of working with the town to bring this project together, Davidson said they have been nothing short of excellent.
“They’re good partners, just excellent partners,” he said.
Cochrane Chief Administrative Officer, Mike Derricott, said when he first took his position at the RancheHouse three years ago, traffic pressures were one of the first things he noticed in the community.
“This represents the big steps forward in that, and I’m a little hesitant to say that the work is done, but I think everyone knows that there’s more to come both on this project and in the bigger picture,” he said.
With a deep focus on progress on progression at the RancheHouse, he acknowledges that although the traffic leads into the Highway Interchange Project, he assures that the commuters will see the improvements that are being made around Cochrane.
“Without question, it feels good,” he said. “My kids attend the tri-school area, and so I’m a user as well, and I felt some of the frustration during and before the project.”
With a difficult traffic equation that includes a railroad, a river, and continued population growth, he said it’s almost like solving a Rubik’s Cube when it comes to solving traffic in town. Despite this, Derricott would like to give credit to everyone who brought this project together and thanks residents for their patience and understanding.
“It’s a part of the process that we have to bust things up while we rebuild the, and we know that’s been frustrating, but thanks for the patience and keep on the lookout for the next steps in the process,” he said.
Coun. Alex Reed said he is excited to see the project complete and outlined it was a project that council was waiting to be completed for a long time.
“I think the citizens of this community will be grateful for what we’ve done here in terms of town council partnering with our provincial government and transportation ministry, so it’s an exciting day,” Reed said.
Coun. Susan Flowers said she was happy to be able to celebrate this win for the Cochrane community.
“These projects are time-consuming and expensive so we need to celebrate them,” she said. “Congratulations to everyone who put this together.”
Mayor Jeff Genung said it's special to see the project accomplish the goal it was set out to achieve.
“Many times, in council you approve something, start it, and not be able to see it finished,” he said. “This is an example of how we got our heads together during COVID, and here’s the result of it a few short years later, and we are able to celebrate it as a group.”
Genung added that he heard from a few in the community that this was a provincial project that should have been funded by the provincial government, and wanted to clarify one thing.
“I’d just like to outline that there were zero tax dollars spent on this project,” he said. “(It came from) stimulus funding through a provincial program through COVID, (and) our council and administration got together in an innovative approach to that funding and here we are. It’s built, we aren’t sitting around waiting for the province to do it anymore, we took things into our own hands, and people are using it already.”
