The Government of Alberta is investing $117 million to twin a new part of Highway 63 north of Edmonton.
The province said Friday the new investment will twin the highway between Mildred Lake and the Peter Lougheed Bridge.
“The rapid and sustained growth in activity north of Fort McMurray makes Highway 63 one of the most critical economic corridors in our province,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a statement. “Making it safer for the hard-working oil sands employees who help keep our economy going is a natural next step. This is one more way we are focused on growing Alberta’s economic momentum.”
This is not the first time the Highway has been twined.
In 2012 the province approved a $1.1 billion project to twin between Grassland and Fort McMurray, a portion of the highway dubbed “The Highway of Death.”
The twinning of that 240-kilometre portion of the highway was completed in 2016.
On April 27, the Alberta government made a similar announcement of extensions to Highway 686, linking Fort McMurray with Peerless Lake in northwestern Alberta.
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In the new plan, however, the province is hoping to expand financial and industrial growth in the northern communities.
“Economic corridors are critical investment to help access the untapped potential of northern Alberta, but they are also a way to improve people’s lives,” Said Brian Jean, Minister of Jobs, Economy and Northern Development. “The twinning of this portion of Highway 63 is another example of how our government is making a difference. This project will shorten commute times and improve the work-life balance of many people in Fort McMurray.”
Work is set to begin in the fall of 2023, with road construction starting in the spring of 2024.
