The Trans-Canada Highway in Medicine Hat is seen in this 2018 landscape file photo taken beneath the Axxess Condos.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
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Replacing the Trans-Canada Bridge deck in Medicine Hat may go to tender this fall, about two-and-a-half years after the work was announced as a COVID stimulus measure, Alberta Transportation told the News.
The span containing eastbound lanes had been tentatively scheduled for resurfacing since the westbound bridge was completely replaced about eight years ago.
A new list of major construction projects in the City of Medicine Hat states the provincial government project is “on hold” for the coming season.
Officials with the ministry told the News that design work is taking place, and the work should go to tender in the fall.
In May 2020, a group of major highway projects in the region was announced as part of efforts by the province to stoke economic activity in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic.
That included the twinning of Highway 3 between Taber and Burdett, lighting upgrades through Medicine Hat, upgrades to on- and off-ramps at the interchange of Highways 1 and 3 in the city. Smaller projects would upgrade the Trans-Canada connection to Box Springs Road and the railroad overpass near Redcliff.
Highway 3 intersection and signal upgrades in the Hat went ahead last year.
The highway twinning project is also listed as “design phase” in the 2022 ministry construction plan.
According to the same plan, the only major active highway construction in the southeast this summer will be on Highway 61, where the grade is being widened between Etzikom and Orion.
