By Charles Lefebvre

Advocates hopeful Highway 3 twinning project will get new life

May 9, 2019 | 4:13 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Advocates for the twinning of Highway 3 are hopeful the project will get new life under a new government.

The highway runs for Medicine Hat to the British Columbia border, and with the exception of the stretch between Taber and Fort McLeod, is single-lane for its entire duration.

Discussions about twinning the remaining sections of highway have been underway for decades in communities along the road.

The Medicine and District Chamber of Commerce are among the ones supporting the initiative.

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“The Chamber advocates for the twinning of Highway 3, along with extensive consultation with business,” said Reagan Weeks, a director with the Medicine Hat and District Chamber of Commerce. “That project, of course, will interrupt services, and although we support that initiative, we want to ensure the businesses along that route are well taken care of.”

Weeks says the Chamber are in support of twinning the Highway for both safety and economic reasons.

“We consider safety concerns, and believe that the twinning of Highway 3 will increase safe transport, and then, of course, the transport of goods and services will be enhanced.” she said.

United Conservative Party MLA Drew Barnes represents Cypress-Medicine Hat, where Highway 3 begins, and has advocated for twinning the highway since he was first elected in 2012. Now part of a UCP majority, Barnes feels he is in a better position to advocate for the project.

“It’s important for a number of reasons, first of all safety,” he said. “Parts of Highway 3 between here and Lethbridge, before we get to Taber where it is twinned, are very, very busy. Parts of Highway 3 in the Crowsnest Pass area are very dangerous, and safety is a big thing.

“Secondly, the economy. We’ve seen, you know, Lethbridge diversify and grow, and we’ve seen irrigated land get all the way to Seven Persons, and almost all the way to Medicine Hat. I think the more that we can do to ease transportation, the better our chance will be of growing the economy as well.”

Ric McIver, recently sworn in as Alberta’s Transportation Minister, also held the portfolio when Barnes was first elected in 2012.

“He was aware of what was going on, and hopefully we can find an ability now to find out exactly where we are in terms of the priorities,” he said.

While twinning has not started, Weeks says circumstances have lined up that may jump start the project.

“I believe any officials that have spoken about this project are receptive, however it’s something that continues to take some time, and advocacy, and we’re prepared to do that,” she said.

CHAT News reached out to McIver for an interview about the project and where it stands on the government’s priority list, but he was not available. He did provide a statement.

“Highway 3 is the major east/west route through southern Alberta and is considered an important transportation corridor,” McIver’s statement reads. “Alberta Transportation continues to study the possible twinning of Highway 3, and functional planning studies are underway for the portions of Highway 3 between Sentinel and Pincher Station, and between Burdett and Taber.

The statement continues, “These studies have been conducted in consultation with residents and stakeholders. Twinning these sections of Highway 3 will be considered along with other projects across the province, as part of the annual capital planning process.”

More information about the current planning studies can be found here. 

Additional studies can be found here.