The announcement the Town of Cochrane has been working towards for nearly 20 years came to fruition on Friday, courtesy of Alberta Transportation minister Brian Mason.

A massive $40 to $50 million upgrade to the interchange of Hwy. 1A and Hwy. 22 got the green-light from the Alberta government and is anticipated to be completed by the end of the 2020-21 construction season.

When done it will include a twinned Hwy.1A under a twinned Hwy. 22 structure, a twinned Hwy. 22 bridge across the CPR main line, access routes to both Hwy. 1A and Hwy. 22 and a bridge across Big Hill Creek on Hwy. 1A.

Mason says an engineering consultant will be hired by the end of this summer and anticipates the design work will be completed by early 2019, followed by two years of construction.

Mason points to multiple winners with this infrastructure project.

"I think it will really improve the problems we've had with congestion. It will be safer, it will help the economy, it will be better for the tourism industry, better for the forestry industry as well as the folks in Cochrane and the people who come to Cochrane," says Mason.

"I think it's a really good day for the Town of Cochrane and the people in the area because they're going to get a first class piece of infrastructure that makes life better, makes it safer, boosts the economy and makes things a lot more convenient for everybody"

With the province having to wrestle over which highway projects to complete, Mason believes waiting any longer to undertake this project would be a mistake.

"It's the fastest growing community in our province and we need a plan for the future and what's a serious problem today in traffic a few years down the road can become a really, really dangerous one, So we want to get ahead of that and want to make sure we're supporting the growth of this town and make sure we're ready for the future."

Cochrane Mayor Ivan Brooker was grinning ear-to-ear after having to keep the announcement under wraps for a couple of weeks while the finishing touches were being added.

"It's a glorious day for Cochranite," says Mayor Brooker. "I am so overwhelmed. It has been a long time in the making, so I'm happy for Cochranites and people in the region as a whole because this is a major piece of infrastructure that has been desperately needed in the region for a long time."

Two years of construction means traffic will be snarled for north and west bound traffic that relies on that intersection, including many of Cochrane's newer residential areas. It will be worth the frustration, though, says Brooker.

"It's going to get worse likely before it gets better during the course of construction, but to me personally as a Cochranite travelling through that, if I know that work is in progress and its only a matter of time before we get the end results that we've been looking for for years I can live with that."

 

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