You snoozed your 6 a.m. alarm. It’s so dark out and the thought of venturing into the -30 air makes your skin crawl. You immediately fall back asleep. You jolt awake half an hour later and realize you’re late for school. Yikes.
You head out the door after throwing yourself together. Your car starts after the second try and you’re on the road. Fumbling with the radio, you head down University Drive. That’s when you hear it – the familiar voice over the airwaves utters a deadly phrase: “collision on Whoop-Up Drive.”
We’ve all been there. West Lethbridge is home to commuting students and staff alike who will all agree that the winter morning trek to school is a beast that cannot be tamed.
Leaving even a minute later than planned can throw a wrench into your entire commute, causing you to wind up in seemingly endless traffic. Throw a car accident on the bridge into the equation – and you might as well just stay home. By the time you make it the college, class will be over, your instructor will have written you off as a slacker, and your perfect attendance record will be no more.
It’s that time of year, Lethbridge. We need to talk about the third bridge.
Born-and-raised Lethbians are more than familiar with this topic. There have rumors of the third bridge for as long as most can remember. This time of year, though, this comes to mind often. Especially on those frosty morning drives to the college when traffic and car accidents have one, if not both, of the bridges packed bumper to bumper.
Though west-siders currently have two options to cross the Oldman, the Bridge Drive and Highway 3 route is out of reach for residents living from Riverstone down to the Canyons. The highway merge and higher speed limit may also intimidate some drivers in the winter months.
Whoop-up Drive sees a heavier traffic flow, comparatively. This, and the multiple lanes on the bridge, result in greater risk for collisions. The bridge’s variable speed system that lowers the speed limit based on road conditions also contributes to traffic and driver confusion.
The city’s initial proposal of the bridge happened over a decade ago, and was estimated to cost about $150 million. The city’s transportation department recommended the project be named Chinook Trail and should be done in approximately 25 years.
However, the transportation department proposed the idea again to the city’s finance committee in 2016. It proposed $5 million be used in 2027 to complete the design and cost estimate for the bridge.
The city noted that increased number of collisions and heavy traffic flows on Whoop-Up Drive and Highway 3 were reason to revisit the project sooner.
Lethbridge’s booming population should be reason enough to get this project rolling. Over 40 per cent of the population live on the west side, and due to the city’s poor public transportation system, the majority of us commute in our own vehicles as well – but that’s for another article.
The city noted along with their proposal in 2016 that the current plans for the third bridge could be accelerated if need increases. For now, though, Chinook Trail will just be the light at the end of the tunnel for us west-siders.