By rdnewsNOW staff

Future roadway

Lacombe city council approves recommendations made in South Connector Functional Plan

Apr 17, 2025 | 2:24 PM

Lacombe city council has approved recommendations in the South Connector Functional Plan.

The plan is part of the City of Lacombe’s strategy to meet projections on traffic growth and provide an alternate east-west transportation route.

The recommendations came from the plan that studied a new 7.5 kilometre arterial road that would connect 76 Street to 34 Street along the southern edge of Lacombe.

“Council is pleased to approve the recommendations in South Connector Functional Plan,” said Mayor Grant Creasey in a media release. “These preliminary steps will help ensure our region’s transportation system can continue to grow with our communities. I want to thank Lacombe County and the Government of Alberta for this successful partnership and for their commitment to sustainable development.”

The Plan is a collaboration between the city and Lacombe County. The plan was funded by the province’s Alberta Community Partnership (ACP) grant, which has covered all costs.

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The city and county say that any potential construction will most likely be many years in the future. In the meantime, they approved multiple recommendations including developing a financial strategy to pay for the capital cost of the road.

In addition, they also plan to look for opportunities to collaborate with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada on the development of the south connector. They will also look to explore options to relieve traffic pressure from 50 Ave. and Highway 2A.

They also recommend they review and update the City’s Municipal Development Plan (MDP) and Area Structure Plan (ASP) as required to protect the road corridor in collaboration with Lacombe County.

However in the near future, the plan given all parties involved a foundation for capital planning and it emphasizes the need for collaboration with the AAFC; the land owner most impacted by the road plans.

In the long term, the plan shows that a two-lane road may be needed in approximately 20 years to meet the growing traffic pressures which accommodates 9,000 vehicles per day. With four lanes, the south connector is expected to accomodate up to 15,000 per day.

There is no immediate capital costs associated with accepting these recommendations and external funding will be needed to make the project financially viable.