Residents want to stop Elbow River bridge on Southwest Ring Road

Concerned residents in southwest Calgary want the provincial government to change the design of a new bridge over the Elbow River.

Construction on the Southwest Ring Road project is underway. The $1.42 billion project will link Highway 8 with Highway 22X.

About two dozen residents have filed letters with the province's Environmental Appeals Board about the design.

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The freeway will cross the Elbow River valley on an earthberm. There will be a 150-metre wide opening in thebermfor the river to flow through into theGlenmoreReservoir just to the east.

LakeviewresidentAllieTulickis concerned what will happen to thebermwhen the Elbow floods.

"It really isn't good engineering practices tobermor dam a river into a small opening," saidTulick.

"If we have a significant flood event, there's a good chance that thatbermwill fail or top over and leak and that's going to, of course, ruin theWeaselhead, put wildlife at risk, flood homes upstream."

Tulickis hoping the Environmental Appeals Board will halt construction so the design can be changed.

Open span bridge thought to be better option

Her preference is for an open span bridge which will allow water to pass under the freeway with few restrictions, just as it does through the area today.

Transportation Minister Brian Mason was asked duringQuestion Period at the Legislature this week about the residents' concerns.

He said the government is confident the bridge design is sound and will pose no problems for theGlenmoreReservoir or theGlenmoreDam, even under flood levels, such as those seen in 2013.

"We've designed the bridge to have a 150-metre bridge span which provides additional hydraulic capacity and we've also designed thestormwaterponds so they can take more water in the event of a flood," said Mason.

As well, the province is planning to build theSpringbankOff-stream Reservoir which Mason said will reduce floodwater levels before they reach the ring road and theGlenmoreReservoir.

Residents hope for quick resolution

Those answers don't minimize the concerns of residents.

Tulicksaid theyhope the Environmental Appeals Board can deal with this issue quickly, before construction goes much further.

"They can recommend a new design and they can recommend what kind of design. That's my understanding of it," saidTulick.

"We're happy to work with them on that. I think that would be the best outcome, to just build a better bridge and get it right."

The province is on a tight timeframe to complete the Southwest Ring Road.

Under the terms of the agreement the province has with theTsuut'inaNation, the ring road must be completed by May 2022 or the land purchased by the province from the nation will revert back to theTsuut'ina.

Currently, the province projects the freeway will be finished in the fall of 2021.

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