Edmonton Roads

[hilman]

^ Zing!!

[Rocket252]

There are bad drivers everywhere.

[Xelebes]

Most drivers are inadequate drivers. Including ourselves.

[Daveography]

^ Not me! I bike.

...though I guess technically speaking that makes me an inadequate driver...

[Airboy]

As a lifer in YEG with a short stint in TO for NASCAR driver training (401). I have noticed a steady drop in the quality of driving habits. And this crosses over to the cycling side as well.

The drop has been steady since the eradication of Provincial Drivers tests and a move to private firms administering the tests. You now get license mills and it shows.

But we do have a lot of people that have moved here from other jurisdictions and they brought their driving habits here.

I hope that Alberta moves in the same direction as BC and starts enforcing the left lane rule. The signage in BC is quite noticeable. Let Others Pass. I think we need signs on all the major highways that say Left Lane For Passing Only.
And let’s hope that the New government will become Proactive and not reactive with regard to highway/freeway construction.

[Kokkei Mizu]

Calgary Trail:

• Video Link

Quesnell Bridge pier extensions by Acey, on Flickr

[Coldrsx]

Those are actually very interesting from an engineering perspective and design aesthetic.

[EdmTrekker]

Originally Posted by Acey

Quesnell Bridge pier extensions by Acey, on Flickr

Cool shot - you were on the river in what?

[Coldrsx]

You can get right down on the river there as the road passes under to Ft. Ed.

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

You can get right down on the river there as the road passes under to Ft. Ed.

Yep, this.

[Mikemike]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Those are actually very interesting from an engineering perspective and design aesthetic.

Maybe, but it was way more graceful before.

There's actually a photo of that bridge in a National Geographic book about construction ("Builders", I think) that my parents have. Looked way better before.

Just a standard bridge, I don't see anything particularly aesthetic about it in either form. The extensions are a great bit of engineering though.

[EdmTrekker]

Originally Posted by Acey

Just a standard bridge, I don't see anything particularly aesthetic about it in either form. The extensions are a great bit of engineering though.

I think the braces are simplistic and an obvious solution for weight bearing. They are a brutal design that only a structural engineer would appreciate and no doubt "designed". Had an architect been tasked to provide the design they would have been more elegant and refined...albeit at 3 times the cost.

“This approach would allow us to widen the bridge without going down into the river channel, which would have been a significant undertaking given today’s strict environmental requirements as well as other risk factors,” Kriviak says. “There would be habitat disturbance considerations, navigation constraints, seasonal and in-channel access constraints, fluctuating water levels to deal with – all of which would have almost certainly resulted in higher cost and a potentially longer construction schedule.”

Extending the pier caps was not without technical design and installation challenges. Selecting structural steel as a primary component of the extensions turned out to be a key factor in addressing the challenges, Kriviak says. “Selective use of steel was key in meeting a fundamental requirement of this project. Concrete extensions would have led to excessive additional weight on the structure. Also, placement of major concrete formwork above the river would have been a difficult process and might have resulted in the complicating requirement of temporary impact on the river channel.”

http://www.cisc-icca.ca/projects/alb...ridge-widening

[Hallsy's Toupee]

About 2 hours south of Edmonton but on a popular road for Edmontonians - QE2/Gaetz Ave interchange rework starts later this month:
http://www.hwy2gaetz.com/

[milomilo]

That's really interesting about that bridge! Down in Calgary there is investigation being done into widening Crowchild across the Bow. I didn't know how feasible it was, but I imagine a similar technique would be used there and it's good that we have such a similar project in the province.

And I think those struts are beautiful. They are as simple as they can be, but no simpler - and you can see exactly how they work. No aesthetic fluff.

I'll post this list here too, compiled it last week. I've extrapolated a bunch of numbers but I believe the order to be correct.

10 Busiest Major Routes in Alberta, 2015 (AADT)

1. Deerfoot @ Memorial = 170,070
2. Glenmore Causeway = ~150,000
3. Quesnell Bridge (Whitemud) = ~113,000
4. Henday NW @ Yellowhead = 105,370
5. QE2 @ Ellerslie = 99,210
6. Macleod Tr over Fish Creek = ~93,000
7. Crowchild @ Shag = ~92,000
8. Memorial @ Deerfoot = ~90,000
9. Yellowhead @ Fort Rd = ~75,000
10. Stoney @ Beddington = 72,940

Source 1, 2, 3

[EdmontonTraveller]

^ Notable non-YEG/YYC routes
12. Fort Mac Bridge ~62,000
13. Red Deer Highway 2 & 32 St ~60,000

Also Highway 2 @ Airdrie 90,000 (110,000 @ Crossiron Mall), just 45,000 N of Airdrie
Also Highway 2 @ Nisku 95,000, just 34,000 S of Leduc

97th St. @ Yellowhead beats out Beddington Trail & 170 Street, for 14th and #1 surface street in Alberta.

Originally Posted by EdmontonTraveller

97th St. @ Yellowhead beats out Beddington Trail & 170 Street, for 14th and #1 surface street in Alberta.

What numbers are you looking at for 97 St? Cause the highest I see is 59k weekday, therefore...

14 St SW @ Glenmore, Calgary = 85,000
97 St @ Yellowhead, Edmonton = 59,000
16 Ave NE @ Centre St, Calgary = 50,000

From there it depends what you want to call a surface street. And Beddington @ Beddington Blvd is 56k. 170th is probably a bit over 50k now.