--- In canroads@yahoogroups.com, "captainbeowulf" <beowulfr@...> wrote:
>

> Although that debate has gone on, IIRC, for decades.
>
> So with the airport going, are we going to see Yellowhead completely
reconstructed through there? There will now be space for interchanges/service
roads, plus the bend in Yellowhead to avoid the runways can now be eliminated -
Yellowhead can just go in a straight line.
>

Yes... the debate has gone on probably 40 years longer than it should have... it
isn't a wonder that we've taken a backseat to Calgary lately...

I think the city will come up with a detailed land-use plan for the airport
before any transportation issues are looked at. This will be phased in over a
medium-term (15-25 year) span. One runway will be shut down immediately, while
the adjacent one will be phased out as businesses affected by the closure make
arrangements (over a few years). Once the land-use plan has been figured out,
road and light-rail possibilities will be sorted out.

My hope is that 118 Ave will get a direct connection through the airport lands,
eliminating the jog of Kingsway/Princess Elizabeth Aves and the congestion this
cumulatively causes where they meet near 109 street/111 Ave.

Regarding the Yellowhead, there are already plans to relocate our Greyhound Bus
Depot next to our VIA Rail station (just south of the Yellowhead @ 121 Street.
With Light Rail closing in on NAIT, there's the real possibility for a new
passenger transportation hub right here. I hope that 107 and 121 access are
removed in favour of an interchange located somewhere between the two with
service roads linking our new transportation hub and NAIT. Construction of the
interchange could follow a straight alignment allowing no disruption along
Yellowhead, which would follow its current alignment until the interchange was
completed. This will also provide better access to 97 Street as the exits will
be better spaced out.

My dream: remove access at 124 street, and consruct a 127 Street interchange
with a basketweave ramp system between it and St. Albert Trail. Put an
interchange halfway between 142 and 149 with service road access from both to
accommodate that (149 gets an additional flyover), remove access @ 89 street,
construct a flyover @ 66 Street, remove access @ 62 Street, add full-width
shoulders from 156 Street to 50 Street, realign the thru-lanes to a gentler
curve @ the Fort Road/Wayne Gretzky Drive interchange, increase the speed limit
to 90 km/hr through the entire city. Voila. Yellowhead Freeway.

-0773|=\