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After driving to/from Jasper and seeing how much traffic has boomed on Yellowhead Trail from Edmonton to Stony Plain, it made me wonder if there are plans to upgrade this stretch of the freeway. Turns out the province just finished a planning study last year, and holy mother of diverging diamond interchanges! Here are some images from an open house for the interchange and freeway upgrades, including a much needed basket weave at Winterburn Road.
1751665324257.png1751665382601.png1751665446982.png1751665469319.png1751665604814.png1751665766683.png

The presentation doesn't establish clear construction timelines, but does say this:
1751666546974.png1751666599217.png

All in all, I hope the widening of the freeway to 3 lanes in each direction happens before 2030, and all necessary interchange upgrades (particularly at Winterburn Rd) are done by 2035.
 
I've also been thinking about upgrades to the sections of Yellowhead Trail that are currently grade-separated but are pretty subpar for modern freeway standards. The long stretches without shoulders in a lot of places (ex. between the rail yard and cemetery and at underpasses) is one thing that compromises safety and makes this oldest section of freeway stand in stark contrast to the newer sections. But the most glaring concern is the ridiculously short distance between the Fort Road and 82nd Street interchanges. I think the WB off-ramp and EB on-ramp at the 82nd Street interchange need to be closed, because as the freeway climbs north of 100,000 daily vehicles, the weave zone between those interchanges will be incredibly congested and dangerous. I also think the LRT overpass needs to be widened when the time comes to rehabilitate it in order to smoothen the curve of the freeway and accommodate a wider freeway with shoulders on the sides and median, longer on-off ramps for the interchange at Fort Road and better sightlines on the freeway overall. And the little driveways onto the freeway ramps need to go. Here's a rough sketch:
1751668901523.png
 
The Province is always slow on highway projects. The only time the province is serious is around election time.
 
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yeggator said:
I've also been thinking about upgrades to the sections of Yellowhead Trail that are currently grade-separated but are pretty subpar for modern freeway standards. The long stretches without shoulders in a lot of places (ex. between the rail yard and cemetery and at underpasses) is one thing that compromises safety and makes this oldest section of freeway stand in stark contrast to the newer sections. But the most glaring concern is the ridiculously short distance between the Fort Road and 82nd Street interchanges. I think the WB off-ramp and EB on-ramp at the 82nd Street interchange need to be closed, because as the freeway climbs north of 100,000 daily vehicles, the weave zone between those interchanges will be incredibly congested and dangerous. I also think the LRT overpass needs to be widened when the time comes to rehabilitate it in order to smoothen the curve of the freeway and accommodate a wider freeway with shoulders on the sides and median, longer on-off ramps for the interchange at Fort Road and better sightlines on the freeway overall. And the little driveways onto the freeway ramps need to go. Here's a rough sketch:
View attachment 664039
Click to expand...
I think the trouble with the Fort Road overpass is that it’s a turnaround for trucks. The Yellowhead Trial is narrow under Fort Road, 82 and 97 Streets. I don’t know if it’s possible, but I wonder if there could be something similar with the entry/exit arrangement between 127 and 156 Street.
 
I think the spacing between 82 Street and Fort Road is fine for now. Where I see the largest safety issue is the Fort Road eastbound on-ramp that gives you very little time to merge with horrible sightlines. The ramp technically has a yield sign, but stopping on the ramp to wait for a gap at rush hour is a recipe for disaster.
 
The_Cat said:
I think the trouble with the Fort Road overpass is that it’s a turnaround for trucks.
Click to expand...

Should still be able to accommodate truck turnarounds on a longer overpass. Just has to be well segregated from the other traffic.
 
chrisvazquez7 said:
I think the spacing between 82 Street and Fort Road is fine for now. Where I see the largest safety issue is the Fort Road eastbound on-ramp that gives you very little time to merge with horrible sightlines. The ramp technically has a yield sign, but stopping on the ramp to wait for a gap at rush hour is a recipe for disaster.
Click to expand...
They plan to fix that when they work on 66th Street. There’s a sidewalk next to the eastbound lanes under the LRT overpass that will be decommissioned, with the space used for a longer on-ramp.
 
yeggator said:
They plan to fix that when they work on 66th Street. There’s a sidewalk next to the eastbound lanes under the LRT overpass that will be decommissioned, with the space used for a longer on-ramp.
Click to expand...
chrisvazquez7 said:
I think the spacing between 82 Street and Fort Road is fine for now. Where I see the largest safety issue is the Fort Road eastbound on-ramp that gives you very little time to merge with horrible sightlines. The ramp technically has a yield sign, but stopping on the ramp to wait for a gap at rush hour is a recipe for disaster.
Click to expand...
That ramp is my regular exhilarating reminder of my mortality. You either go or you die, no time for self-doubt!
 
yeggator said:
After driving to/from Jasper and seeing how much traffic has boomed on Yellowhead Trail from Edmonton to Stony Plain, it made me wonder if there are plans to upgrade this stretch of the freeway. Turns out the province just finished a planning study last year, and holy mother of diverging diamond interchanges! Here are some images from an open house for the interchange and freeway upgrades, including a much needed basket weave at Winterburn Road.


The presentation doesn't establish clear construction timelines, but does say this:


All in all, I hope the widening of the freeway to 3 lanes in each direction happens before 2030, and all necessary interchange upgrades (particularly at Winterburn Rd) are done by 2035.
Click to expand...

Do I see 4 lanes even up to the Henday interchange? I'm honestly shocked we're getting any freeway upgrades, but probably largely the businesses around Acheson followed by commuters from Parkland County lobbying for this work.

chrisvazquez7 said:
I think the spacing between 82 Street and Fort Road is fine for now. Where I see the largest safety issue is the Fort Road eastbound on-ramp that gives you very little time to merge with horrible sightlines. The ramp technically has a yield sign, but stopping on the ramp to wait for a gap at rush hour is a recipe for disaster.
Click to expand...

That little section of Yellowhead Trail is often used for people traveling between Wayne Gretzky Dr and 82 St and is quite busy. 97 St to Fort Road will likely remain a 70 zone and honestly, that's fine. I typically match the speed of traffic and assert myself into a gap. I'd rather they keep the sidewalk to close the missing link of the Yellowhead shared use path at least until they complete the 66 St overpass.
 
They needed to start on the Winterburn interchange five years ago. YHT WB before Winterburn Rd is already at a stand still daily from 4-6 PM due to the two consecutive Henday off ramp merge lanes that are only 500m apart onto a two lane stretch. The high frequency of heavy truck traffic coming off the Henday NB off ramp particularly struggle hard to accelerate up to merging speed which really bogs things down.

Only going to get much worse as Hawks Ridge, Kinglet and Pintail Landing are all rapidly developing housing. I bet by 2035 when there will be 12,000 more people living there, the vast majority of which will be utilizing the Yellowhead and Henday to commute.
 
northlands said:
Only going to get much worse as Hawks Ridge, Kinglet and Pintail Landing are all rapidly developing housing. I bet by 2035 when there will be 12,000 more people living there, the vast majority of which will be utilizing the Yellowhead and Henday to commute,
Click to expand...
Along with Stoney-grove growing as much as it is
 
Stony Plain and Spruce Grove have probably doubled in population since the first interchanges were built, and Acheson has grown a hell of a lot.
 
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