Cash-strapped Alberta rethinks approach to highways
BANFF, AB - A cash-strapped Alberta government is rethinking the way priorities are set for the province's highway network and related maintenance - both for the short term and decades into the future. Every proposed infrastructure project must now contribute to a "triple bottom line" that considers social, economic and environmental impacts, Alberta Transportation Assistant Deputy Minister Shaun Hammond said in a briefing during the Alberta Motor Transport Association's annual convention. Decisions to twin a highway will be based on more than traffic counts alone. And "you will see more and more (environmental issues) in the next few months." The department is already reaching out to the association in the search for ways to reduce emissions around Red Deer, where particulates from diesel engines have played a role in creating the worst air quality in Canada. And Alberta Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Brian Mason pledged earlier in the day to begin research into fuel-saving wide-base single tires "as soon as possible".
