I received the below update on the Elbow Drive Reconstruction Project from Transportation Infrastructure, which I wanted to share with you.
Construction update – Nov. 24, 2011
- As of Nov. 24, 2011, all lanes on Elbow Drive are open to traffic with two lanes operating in each direction. Traffic lanes are clearly marked, but lines will be painted on the road once the pavement dries.
- All roads east of Elbow Drive between 51st Avenue and 57th Avenue that were closed for construction are now re-opened.
- Bus stops are accessible and open in their final locations.
The Elbow Drive Reconstruction Project has been conducted in Phases. Phases 1 & 2 are largely complete except for the finishing work noted below. Phase 3, which is the reconstruction of the roadbed between Sifton Boulevard and 4th Street S.W., will begin in spring of 2012 (more details below and to follow).
Phase 1 – Elbow Drive between 50th Avenue S.W. and Lansdowne Avenue
- Phase 1 of the project is complete with the exception of the installation of the railing on the retaining wall south of Lansdowne Avenue, which will be completed this year. Any other minor repairs that are required will be completed in two to three years.
Phase 2 – Elbow Drive between Glenmore Trail and 50th Avenue S.W.
- The majority of the work in Phase 2 is now complete. Any remaining landscaping, curb and sidewalk work not completed in 2011 will be deferred until the spring of 2012. This includes relocation of some Enmax facilities, where necessary, to accommodate the sidewalk construction. Various lane closures will be necessary to accommodate this work.
Intersections of Elbow Drive and 50th Avenue and Elbow Drive and 58th Avenue S.W.
- Work on the southbound section of the intersection at 50th Avenue and Elbow Drive S.W. has been completed.
- Work on the northbound section of these two intersections will be deferred until the spring of 2012.
- When construction begins, 50th Avenue S.W. and 58th Avenue S.W at Elbow Drive will be closed to all traffic for two to three weeks.
Phase 3 – Sifton Boulevard to 4th Street S.W. (spring 2012)
- Reconstruction of the roadway between Sifton Boulevard and 4th Street S.W. is in the planning stages and work will begin in the spring/summer of 2012.
- Depending on weather and other circumstances, the project should be complete by the end of the 2012 construction season.
- During construction, the roadway will be reduced from four lanes to two for a period of between four to six months.
- Communication will take place with the community and commuters well before the project starts.
The last step – a final layer of paving
- Elbow Drive will receive a final layer of pavement at the end of the entire project. Final paving cannot begin until the construction area has had time to settle, usually about two to three years after construction has taken place.
- The final paving will smooth out any areas of uneven pavement at the construction joints of the various stages, particularly where the new pavement ties into the existing pavement.
- Paving may occur in stages, but there will still be access to Elbow Drive, although it will be reduced to accommodate the paving. Paving should not take more than one week for each phase of the project.
Please visit calgary.ca/elbowdrive for updates on this project.
I received your email re updates today. I want to thank you for this and all the other updates which have made our lives a whole lot easier while the work was going on. Thanks, Brian, from Meadowlark Park.
Peter Russell
Hi Brian,
Glad to hear of the Elbow Drive major repair work. Now if Calgary Transit wants to get the people who were forced to either walk long distances to get on the #3 Elbow Drive/ Sandstone/Fish Creek Park area, maybe they could put back some of the Bust stops between 50th Avenue and 61st Avenue. Seems they are making it harder for the Drivers to know why the stops have been deleted.
See if Calgary Transit could put the 2 back between 52 and 58th.
While the major repair work on most of Elbow Drive was great and much needed. It was not done well.
1. The intersection at 58th Avenue SW and Elbow Drive is uneven and just past 58th Avenue on Elbow Drive there is a bump and very uneven. These areas need to be redone this year.
2. At the intersection of 50th Avenue and Elbow Drive there is this ‘huge’ upward unevenness (not sure how else to describe it) but the cars feel like they are going to take off as the grade is so uneven. I think this also needs to be fixed this year.
Obviously time ran out on the project and the construction works just finished it off in a hurry thereby leaving these two major problems.
And, I have never known a City that the road workers do not know how to make the manhole even with the road surface – I feel ‘every’ manhole on Elbow Drive as does my poor car and I’m sure I will need a wheel alignment every few months.
Thank you.
Marlene
Hi Marlene – thanks for bringing these spots to our attention. I’ll be sure to let the project team know.
Although work on the first two phases of the project is substantially complete, there are some repairs, sidewalk & curb and landscaping work left to be done. Additionally, and I think to your point, there will be a final paving completed in 2 or 3 years that should even out the final road surface. When major road work is done the subsurface needs time to settle before this final paving can be completed.
That said, I’ll pass these concerns on to the project team and they can look into it and see if more immediate remedial work needs to be completed.
After recently moving here to Calgary and Elbow Park specifically, I was shocked to learn that the Elbow Drive reconstruction did not include major changes to emphasize the unique character of this heritage street. For example, most major cities try to beautiful heritage streets by placing rows of planters in the middle of the street (dividing the 2 directions)…instead the reconstruction emphasizes Elbow Drive as a highway instead of a road that contains most of the heritage homes in Calgary. I am disappointed in our Alderman who (correct me if I am wrong) did not make more of an effort to address this issue. If people do want to drive “quickly” through the city, then MacLeod Trail is not too far off. Cheers.
Fil
Thanks Fil, I’ll be sure to share your thoughts with Brian.
I believe that when the project was first being planned (this was before my time working for Brian) that improvements of the sort you describe were discussed, and, along with bike lanes, are something that Brian really would have liked to see added to the project.
That said, the project team and its design were really limited by the project’s scope, their budget, and most importantly the width of the right of Elbow Drive’s right of way. Unfortunately there are a number of choke points in the right of way that meant that adding any additional width to the road in the form of either bike-lanes, planters or the like just wasn’t feasible. It was something that was explored though, and its my understanding that it is something that Brian would have liked to see added in, however the realities of project just wouldn’t let it happen.
Hope that this helps answer some of your concerns!
Hi Bryce, Brian,
It seems the work from 4TH Street to Sifton has gone on way too long and now with Winter here it seems the project has not even looked finished no matter the reasons. When you start real late like after Stampede week, can you not finish before Thanksgiving? Seems reasoning has gone out the door and now we see a mess as the pavement would not settle properly in this cold even with a Chinook come through, who does this kind of schedules should just be put to do yard work for three years as a punishment. Every project on Elbow Drive has started late and eneded late and the roads will never be the same. Someone should investigate the over all project flow and see why delays and a mismanaged project could go so wrong. I am unhappy this has become when if they did this project right by breaking it up in smaller sections it could be started and finsihed before winter. Check out who you hire and make errors cost someone.