As the days grow longer, construction season ramps up in Edmonton, and now a massive and long-overdue overhaul of a major southwest route is preparing to enter its third phase.
If you’ve been through this area at any time in the last five years, then construction slowdowns won’t be anything new to you, but the next phase of the Terwillegar Drive expansion project looks to be the biggest yet.
Early work on Stage 3 has already wrapped up, laying the groundwork for construction to begin this spring. This massive phase includes road widening, interchange upgrades at Anthony Henday Drive, dedicated transit lanes and a shared pathway.
Terwillegar Drive and 170th Street will be widened to six lanes, and the interchange for the two roads is getting reworked to handle traffic better.
In addition to that, a new bridge will carry northbound Terwillegar Drive over Anthony Henday Drive, while the existing bridge will be reconfigured to handle southbound traffic. Two new loop ramps will connect southbound Terwillegar to eastbound Henday and northbound Terwillegar to westbound Henday, which should make getting on and off the highway a lot smoother.
On top of that, new transit lanes will be added, and a new shared-use path bridge over Anthony Henday Drive will connect South Terwillegar to Windermere Boulevard, just east of Currents Pointe.
City of Edmonton
Work on the overall project started in 2021. Stage 1 wrapped up in 2024 and included widening between Haddow Drive and Whitemud Drive, along with a shared pathway and landscaping.
Stage 2 is still in progress, with construction ongoing on the Rainbow Valley Bridge, the Rainbow Valley Pedestrian Bridge and the 142nd Street Pedestrian/Cyclist Bridge. That phase kicked off in summer 2023 and is expected to wrap up in 2026, with landscaping continuing into 2027.
If everything stays on track, Stage 3 is expected to be in service by 2028.
You can find out more about the project on the City of Edmonton website.