EDMONTON, (June 29, 2005) — A large stretch of Alberta’s north-south trade corridor will have another 50-km, four-lane addition by the end of the year.

The project on Hwy. 43 — which includes the first 14-km stretch opening this month — is part of the Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program. The Alberta government will invest approximately $52 million in the highway this year, while the federal government will kick-in about $29 million.

Highway 43 runs 432 kilometres from its junction with Highway 16, west of Edmonton, to Grande Prairie, Alta.

The North-South trade corridor will be a continuous 1,175-km, four-lane highway link from the Alberta-Montana border at Coutts, to the British Columbia-Alberta border, west of Grande Prairie. The corridor will form part of the greater CANAMEX corridor, which is a highway link from Alaska to Mexico City.

A 14-kilometre segment of newly twinned highway, between Cherhill and Glenevis, will open to traffic by the end of June, followed by another 36 kilometres by the end of the 2005 construction season. That will leave only 56 kilometres of two-lane road remaining along the highway. The province will undertake twinning the remaining 56 kilometres this year, with completion scheduled for fall 2007.

“Continuing to twin Highway 43 is a major step toward completing the north-south trade corridor,” said Dr. Lyle Oberg, minister of Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation. “This vital highway link fosters the north-south movement of goods and supports Alberta’s growing trade with the United States and Mexico.”

Since there will be numerous construction activities on Highway 43 this summer, motorists are reminded to drive cautiously in construction zones and obey all signs and flag people. Recent amendments to the Traffic Safety Act double the fines for speeding in construction zones.