Nose Hill Interchange

The Project includes 3 precast concrete girder bridges (2 road, 1 pedestrian) plus the widening of an existing precast girder bridge over CP rail tracks, 2 new underpass structures plus 2 underpass extensions.

OVERHEAD STRUCTURES:

• The SBL Bridge consists of a grade separation carrying the south bound lanes of Stoney Trail (Hwy. 201) over the CP Rail Tracks at Nose Hill Drive. (164.5m long and 30-33m wide)
• The PED Bridge is a structure parallel to the west of SBL, carrying pedestrian traffic over the CP Rail Tracks at Nose Hill Drive. (157.85m long and 5m wide)
• The NBL structure consists of a widening of the existing bridge for the north bound lanes of Stoney Trail (Hwy. 201) over the CP Rail Tracks at Nose Hill Drive. (166.5m long and 4.2/11.2m wide (new deck))
• 114 Avenue SE
• The NHD Bridge is a Grade Separation Carrying Nose Hill Drive over Stoney Trail (Hwy.201). (94m long and 29.1m wide).

UNDERPASSES:

• The Wildlife Underpass works under Nose Hill Dr. (Structure 1) consist of an extension of the existing 7.0m span x 4.0m rise precast concrete arch wildlife underpass by 47 metres.
• The Pedestrian Underpass under Nose Hill Dr. (Structure 2) involves the construction of a 75m long x 4.610m diameter structural plate corrugated steel pipe.
• The Pedestrian Underpass under Stoney Trail involves the construction of an 18.3 metre long extension to the existing 4,520m x 4,270m Structural Plate Corrugated Steel Pipe.
• The Pedestrian Underpass under Stoney Trail to Nose Hill Drive ramp (Structure 2) is a new structure of 31 metres long by 4,610 metres diameter structural plate corrugated steel pipe.

Why this project is important

By allowing the removal of traffic signals, the interchange will make Calgary’s ring road free-flowing on its main line. These projects will enhance safety, increase capacity and improve the ride quality of this important roadway.

The province of Alberta states that interchanges like Nose Hill can reduce collisions by 45%.The interchange will also provide improved access and safety while reducing travel time.

How the project is sustainable

The construction for the Nose Hill Stoney Trail Interchange a detailed TAS (Traffic Management Strategy) Plan was developed for the Project that identified and developed solutions for improving safety, and minimizing inconveniences to the traveling public during construction. The Traffic Management Plan is being executed with no disruption in traffic flow to road and pedestrian users.

The technical complexity of the project is due to the need of keeping live traffic while building the new interchange at the same location of the existing one. Every work needs to be analyzed from the traffic accommodation point of view, so all works are executed in such a sequence that traffic on Stoney Trail and Nose Hill Drive is not disrupted. Additionally, the pedestrian traffic has the same level of relevance on the traffic accommodation strategy. The existing pedestrian pathways need to continue being available for public use during construction, so the staging of the works has been developed to accommodate them.

Both SBL bridge and the new overpass carrying Nose Hill Drive over Stoney Trail are post-tensioned, so a tight quality control program has been developed to deliver the best results.