Calgary ring road gets green light

CALGARY, (May 7, 2004) — An agreement-in-principle has been reached between the Province of Alberta and the Tsuu T’ina First Nation for the transfer of lands to create a Southwest Ring Road around the city of Calgary.

The agreement commits the Province and the Nation to use Section 35 of the Indian Act to transfer title of the lands required for the road. The freeway will allow commuters and truckers to bypass the congested Trans-Canada highway by connecting Highway 22X and Glenmore Trail. The road is expected to jut off of Glenmore Tr. and Sarcee Tr., and sidestep just west of the Weaselhead area before connecting back to 37 St. S.W.

The agreement also ensures the road will be built initially as a four-lane freeway and designed to full freeway standards, the government said in a released statement.

Still, there is much work to be done before the road is complete — a process that could take another 18 months. The province and the Tsuu T’ina leaders are discussing issues such as access location, developing a suitable path for commuters, peripheral land use, protecting utility rights of way, and the evaluation of land. Nation citizens will approve the final agreement to build the road through a referendum.