Construction will soon be starting up for the twinning of Highway 566 east of Balzac between Range Road 293 to Range Road 290.

Bryon Riemann, the Executive Director of Operations with Rocky View County said, "It's always been part of a long-range plan that was supported by Alberta Transportation and a functional planning study. A planning study virtually talks about the future aspiration of what roads or networks need to look like. That plan has always indicated that the highway needed to be expanded to a twin state to support not only Rocky View County's growth but the regional movement of transportation movements and logistical movements in the area and from the region."

Riemann explained this isn't a surprise, it's just something that should happen sooner rather than later, especially with the Balzac QEII interchange construction being announced.

The project is still in the early stages.

"Design is done, and tendering is also completed. That's why you saw the budget adjustment come to our council because the tenders received or the prices to build the contract exceeded our budget approval. So we have to go back and make some adjustments so we can do the project."

The project will now cost a total of $19.3 million while the province is covering 25 per cent of the original budget of $16.5 million.

"We've got an initial schedule from the contractor that he will probably start mobilizing mid to late June. We would expect that motorists will start seeing some construction activity and some potential delays occurring from that point forward."

This part of the highway sees around 6,000 vehicles per day.

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