(Alessia Proietti)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

expect significant delays

Major reconstruction of 19 Street to begin next week

May 11, 2023 | 11:20 AM

A major construction project meant to make 19 Street as good as new is set to begin on Red Deer’s south end.

Work begins next Tuesday or Wednesday (May 16/17) and is scheduled to run through October, and then will resume for phase two in May 2024.

Work will include:

• Roadway rehabilitation: 19 St. between Irwin Ave. and Gaetz Ave. was last replaced in 1999; upgrades to the entire road infrastructure are needed to maintain the road’s integrity. This construction will take place from May to October 2023.
• Roundabout at 19 St. and 40 Ave.: Construction of a multi-lane modern roundabout at 19 St. and 40 Ave. will improve intersection capacity, reduce overall traffic delays by 80 per cent, and improve safety for all road users. Construction is anticipated for spring 2024.
• Trail connections: New multi-use trails will be built along the north side of 19 St. all the way to 40 Ave. in order to provide better multi-modal connectivity between neighbourhoods, parks, and commercial spaces.

Russ Watts, Development and Transportation Engineer with The City of Red Deer, admits there will be significant disruptions, but asks motorists and residents to be patient, keeping in mind the importance of the project.

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“19 Street, if you’ve driven it, you know it’s in rough shape. We need to replace what’s underneath, as well as the pavement. Plus, the intersection at 19th and 40th has some delay issues, so the eventual roundabout will help with the flow through there, and have the added safety benefit,” explains Watts.

“As drivers are going through the work, it’ll be 30 km/h, and there could be delays depending on where you’re accessing 19th because it’ll be ‘right in and right out.’ That means if you’re coming from the east, for example, and you want to go to Sharpe Avenue, you’ll go through the zone and turn right in, but to get back east, you’ll have to go right/west to Gaetz Avenue and go around. It will take longer to get to particular areas.”

Watts says one side of 19 Street will be closed, with traffic sharing the two lanes on the other side, and then it’ll flip at some point.

Right in and right out will apply at the 49 Avenue intersection, east at the Westerner’s main intersection, at Sharpe Avenue and Irwin Avenue.

“Our contractors all live in Red Deer, and they want to get home at the end of the day,” adds Watts. “We appreciate that it’s going to be disruptive and take a significant amount of time, but we just hope everybody’s patient and thoughtful when they’re in the zones.”

The budget for this project is $25 million.

READ MORE: City of Red Deer shares construction projects for summer 2023; 19 Street, Taylor Drive, and more