Baseline to be lit at Henday
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Anthony Henday planners will be including two sets of traffic lights for the Baseline Road and Highway 216 interchange.
“On Baseline Road they are also going to have set of lights (for both directions), so when traffic is coming off of the Henday they can actually make turns onto Baseline,” said Strathcona County’s director of Economic Development and Tourism, Gerry Gabinet.
“That is a really tough intersection. These are going to be some really good improvements.”
In October 2012, a woman was killed after trying to exit Highway 216 and turn onto Baseline Road when a semi-truck struck her vehicle.
The new interchange planned for Baseline Road and Anthony Henday Drive will be similar to other sections of the Highway, said project spokesperson Vanessa Urkow.
“As part of the Northeast Anthony Henday Drive project a new interchange will be constructed at Baseline Road and Anthony Henday Drive which includes traffic lights at both ends of the interchange.
“The signalized intersections will allow vehicles to make left turns onto Baseline Road from Anthony Henday Drive without having to cross oncoming Baseline Road traffic,” she said.
“The new Baseline Road interchange will be similar to other interchanges on Anthony Henday Drive such as 97 Street, 91 Street, 111 Street, Terwillegar Drive, and Lessard Road, which all have traffic signals at the ramp intersections.”
The final Anthony Henday project, managed and operated by Capital City Link Group, is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2016 at a cost of $1.81 billion.
Running from Manning Drive to just south of Whitemud Drive, the Henday will include 27 kilometres of six- and eight-lane divided roadway, nine interchanges, two road flyovers, eight rail crossings and two bridges across the North Saskatchewan River.
According to Urkow, the new Baseline interchange has been designed to function beyond 30 years in line with the rest of the Henday structural design, but since Baseline is not considered a freeway, it will not have a full free-flow interchange system.
“A full free-flow ‘systems’ interchange, such as the one at Anthony Henday Drive and Calgary Trail, is only justified when there are two freeways intersecting each other,” she explained. “Baseline Road is an arterial road, not a freeway, and already has traffic signals both east and west of Anthony Henday Drive so it does not warrant a full systems interchange.
“The new Baseline Road interchange has been designed for the ultimate stage of Anthony Henday Drive, meaning the current design is expected to function adequately beyond 30 years.”
According to the project’s website, construction for the remainder of the Northeast Anthony Henday project has been moving along schedule.
As of December 2012, the pile-driving for the Baseline Road and Anthony Henday Drive bridge has been mostly completed.
Meanwhile pile-driving at the Wye Road and Henday section was scheduled to start in December 2012, along with the installation of culverts in the area.
According to the project planners, Henday users can expect delays under the Baseline Road bridge for the foreseeable future and should be cautious of reduced speed signs and controlled equipment crossings.
More information on the Anthony Henday Northeast project can be found online at www.northeastanthonyhenday.com.
leah.germain@sunmedia.ca
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