4.9 Transportation

Existing Transportation System

The industrial area is directly served by provincial Highways 38, 643 and 825. The area is connected to the rest of the provincial highway system via Highways 15, 28/28A, 37 and the two bridges on the North Saskatchewan River (the Fort Saskatchewan Bridge on Highway 15 and the Vinca Bridge on Highway 38).   All provincial highways in the study area have paved surfaces. 

The County roads in the study area range from Twp Rd 560 to Twp Rd 570 and Range Rd 213 to Range Rd 224 (Opal Road).  The location of County roads and Provincial highways in the area are shown on Map 11 Transportation Concept.

Of the two major railway companies, CN Rail and CP Rail, only CN serves the ASP area. As shown in Map 11, the Beamer Spur of CN’s Vegreville Subdivision serves the existing heavy industries (Access Pipelines, Agrium, Degussa, Imperial Pipelines, and Provident Williams) as well as the W4/Sturgeon Industrial Park. To the west of the industrial area, CN’s Coronado Subdivision rail line passes through Gibbons and Redwater on its way north.  However, this line is not directly connected to the Beamer Spur and does not currently serve the existing industrial developments in the study area.

Main Transportation Issues

The Transportation Master Plan study prepared by EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd. provides details of the current issues and future strategies regarding the transportation system for the industrial area. The following are some of the key transportation issues in the area:

• Highway 643 and Highway 825 are the main routes serving the industrial area.  They also serve the through traffic to Redwater and east of the river on Highway 38 across the Vinca Bridge.  The proposed heavy industrial/upgrader developments will cause Highway 643 to become congested as early as 2008.  Upgrading and paving Opal Road (Range Rd 224) and TWP Road 570 would relieve the pressure on Highway 643 by providing a bypass around the industrial area.
• The intersection of Highway 15, Highway 37, and Highway 825 at the southern end of the study area is sub-standard, particularly for industrial traffic to and from Highway 825
• The traffic from Edmonton to Highway 63 to Fort McMurray is funnelled via Highway 28 west of Gibbons, and Highway 28A through Gibbons on to Highway 28 north of Gibbons.  The Highway 825/Opal Road corridor is an alternative for the through north-south traffic that needs to be studied.
• None of the highways in the study area are connected to the provincial High Wide Heavy Load corridors, and the two bridges on the North Saskatchewan River connecting the study area to the east side of the river cannot accommodate high/wide/heavy loads.

There are various general and local safety issues, such as safety at various highway and County road intersections, railway grade crossings with highways and County roads, the Highway 825 bridge over the Sturgeon River and its steep approaches, the intersection of Boysdale Road and Highway 825 where the southbound traffic on Highway 825 encounters a STOP sign.