Province Plans Highway 881 Paving and Future Widening Project

The Government of Alberta has announced plans to upgrade a 21-kilometre section of Highway 881 between Highway 29 and Highway 28, located within the County of St. Paul. The work will begin with paving before a later phase of grade widening is carried out.

Paving First, Widening Later

According to Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors (ATEC), the project will be completed in stages. The initial focus will be resurfacing the highway to preserve the existing asphalt and improve driving conditions. The grade widening, which will require additional land, will be undertaken in a later phase once design and land acquisition processes are complete.

The staged approach is necessary because the current right-of-way is only 66 feet wide, leaving little room to expand without purchasing land from neighbouring properties. ATEC officials noted that widening could occur on one or both sides of the highway, depending on final engineering assessments.

Engineering and Planning Underway

Consultants are being hired for both the immediate paving work and the long-term widening design. ATEC representatives explained that additional planning will be needed for the section passing through St. Vincent, where design considerations and potential utility relocations could add time to the process.

County councillors raised questions about whether resurfacing would temporarily narrow the roadway. ATEC staff assured that design work will assess the pavement structure to ensure the existing width is maintained by milling and replacing the same depth of material.

Coordinated Work to Save Costs

The paving project on Highway 881 will be done alongside resurfacing an 8-kilometre section of Highway 660, between Highway 881 and Highway 882, to maximise efficiency and reduce costs.

Further west, the province also plans to pave a 19-kilometre section of Highway 857, from the North Saskatchewan River to Highway 28, as part of its broader investment in northern transportation infrastructure.

While no firm construction timeline has been released, the province’s plan signals a step forward in improving key transportation routes through the Lakeland region.