Major intersection upgrades, traffic lights coming to Bonnyville in 2025 with GoA funding

Summer 2025 could make Bonnyville construction city, as province green lights massive work within the Town for Highway 28 improvements. 

The provincial government has confirmed to Town of Bonnyville officials that all wishlist items for intersection upgrades, traffic lights, and road improvements, along Highway 28 (Main Street) within the Town will be fully funded and commence soon.

As part of the Government of Alberta committing to $5 million initially for design and engineering to make widespread upgrades to Highway 28, as of late, the province will also do serious work inside Bonnyville on the roadway.

“They’re not fooling around,” said Mayor Elisa Brosseau, who said she hasn’t seen the full extent of the plans, but is very pleased to see this commitment. 

“We’ve very happy. We’ve been advocating and lobbying to the government for a long time. Council is extremely happy for this work to go ahead.” 

Lakeland Connect does yet know what the full list of work is, but the timelines are slated for summer 2025 to do massive work.

This could include a widening of 50th Avenue and 46 Street intersection (Sobeys/Home Hardware) with turning lights, traffic lights at the intersection of 50th Avenue and 66th Street (Neighbourhood Inn), amongst other things.

What the province will do overall with the “forgotten highway” is still unknown. At the time of the announcement in spring 2023, twinning between Bonnyville and Cold Lake, passing lanes, shoulder upgrades, were all on the table.

However, no dollars have been put on the Alberta Government’s long-term capital plan as of the 2024 budget.

Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland said little discussion has been had from city officials with the province.

“Our expectation is they’re going to pick up our plan that we have, it’s already designed drawings, and run with that and finance that,” he told Lakeland Connect on Friday.

“But we haven’t even talked to anybody. We’ll be hoping that the province has when the budget is released in the spring, that we’ll be once again looking if Highway 28 is part of the capital plan for the province. We’re hopeful…that we’ll see at least a one followed by a whole lot of zeros.

“It’s going to be hundreds of millions to do this project, with passing lanes from Smoky Lake to Bonnyville, and then twinning to Cold Lake. The whole argument that we don’t have the traffic counts, they have to stop that. You look at the amount of work that’s going to be hauled up here, not only with the oil patch, carbon capture, but the F-35 program — it’s a dangerous highway right now getting behind those big trucks.”

“We’re just pumping the royalties to Edmonton…I counted $5.5 billion from our big companies to the province in just the last two years. Why aren’t you putting it back in our community? You need to re-invest in the communities that are creating the wealth.”