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Part of Search public engagements

Highway 697 bridge financing engagement

Stakeholders shared feedback on the collection of road user fees to finance a new bridge near La Crete.

Overview

We gathered feedback from stakeholders to understand the potential impacts and opportunities of introducing road user fees to finance the construction of a Highway 697 bridge over the Peace River near La Crete to replace the existing ferry at Tompkins Landing.

This bridge would replace the winter ice road crossing and aging seasonal ferry. Seasonal crossings are closed 30% of the year and are often disrupted by poor weather and wait times of up to 3 hours during peak periods. A reliable year-round bridge would reduce travel times and congestion, improve trade movements, and attract investment to the region.

The bridge is expected to cost $200 million and is not in the 2020-23 Capital Plan. A new financing approach using road user fees could allow this project to proceed during this time of fiscal challenges. Road user fee systems exist in 5 provinces and territories.
 

Timeline

  • Open

    August 18 to August 28, 2020

  • Results under review

  • Completed

    November 2020

Who is listening

Ministry of Transportation

Stakeholder engagement

Government officials met with stakeholders on August 24 in LA Crete and August 25 in High Level, including:

  • local municipal and Indigenous governments
  • retail, freight and transportation sector
  • construction sector
  • agriculture sector
  • forestry sector

Outcomes

We heard strong support for financing this project using road user fees at stakeholder engagement sessions.

Bill 43, the Financing Alberta’s Strategic Transportation Act, was introduced on November 3, 2020 to allow government to collect tolls to finance the construction of new or expanded highway projects.

Upon proclamation of Bill 43, the Financing Alberta’s Strategic Transportation Act, planning and design work can begin on construction of the new bridge on Highway 697 over the Peace River at Tompkins Landing.

Contact

Albertans can share feedback or ask questions by contacting us:

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-415-9961
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: [email protected]