INTERNAL DRAFT ONLY – NOT FOR CIRCULATION

• Main Author: Brad Ledig
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Fort McMurray
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.528.521; http://conf.tac-atc.ca/english/resourcecentre/readingroom/conference/conf2004/docs/s12/bassi.pdf

Highway 63 is the main north/south route through Fort McMurray, Alberta, one of Canada’s fastest growing cities. The highway was originally completed in the 1970s, and was designed to service a population of roughly 25,000. The intersection of Highway 63 and King Street was an at-grade unsignalized two-lane road that generated unacceptable traffic accident statistics. As early as 1991, designs had been put forward to improve the operation and safety of this intersection. By 1999, traffic through the intersection was approaching 20,000 vehicles per day (1) and accident statistics were increasing. Although the Municipality had engaged an engineering firm to design a new interchange, they lacked the funds (even with provincial cost sharing) to proceed with construction. In 2000, Alberta Transportation took over all primary and secondary highways in the province to improve operations and maintenance, provide connectability and safety to the system, and directly alleviate costs for cash-strapped municipalities. The province recognized the need to improve the Highway 63/King Street intersection, assigned a high priority to it, and proceeded with the functional planning, design, and construction of a new interchange.