Left-turning lane & lights trending toward 2026 for change in Bonnyville

The new Main Street in Bonnyville with a left-turning lane and changes to the traffic lights likely won’t happen until 2026.

Alberta Transportation spokesperson Wayne Wood told Lakeland Connect last week that the project is expected to be tendered soon, but the majority of work wouldn’t happen until 2026.

These fundamental changes to how Main Street is driven are part of the provincial government’s revamp of Highway 28, and were lobbied for by the Town of Bonnyville.

A public information session was held at the end of June, showing how parking lanes would shrink to create this new lane, similar to 54th Avenue (Railway).

Recognizing the tight timelines the province was working with, Mayor Elisa Brosseau said it’s not a surprise this is being pushed back.

“They had assured us that they still had time to tender it out and work would possibly get done in October, which, hey, great. But at the same time, we were just very skeptical on those timelines,” Brosseau said on The Morning After. 

There were also minor changes needed based on the feedback from residents, as well as new Town CAO Quinton Wintfley.

From the Town’s point of view, should underground work be considered, or how does this plan jive with the Town’s downtown revitalization?

“If we’re gonna do this, do we start looking at some of those other aspects that potentially should be done at the same time? Or does the province go ahead and pave it all and then in five years when we gotta rip it up again, is that the most cost effective way to go about this? 

“It’s still important for council to have the traffic safety. The traffic flow that is number one. We saw that death a couple years ago. There’s continuously accidents. So it is a priority to get done, whether it’s gonna be late this fall or early next spring.”

The Morning After