No timeline yet on start of Highway 3 twinning

By Trevor Busch
Taber Times
editor@tabertimes.com

Twinning another stretch of Highway 3 in southern Alberta is set to get underway in 2023, but Taber-Warner MLA Grant Hunter wasn’t able to provide any specifics on the immediate timeline.

In Phase 1, 46 kilometres will be twinned between Taber and Burdett.

The overall project – full twinning from border to border – is being proposed in eight phases to limit cost factors and avoid disruption to people that live and work along the route.

“We’re excited about Highway 3, starting in 2023 between Taber – Burdett,” said Hunter. “I’m really excited about that.”

Exactly when construction is set to get underway is more of a question mark, according to Hunter.

“Not shovels in the ground yet. But it’s imminent.”

For Highway 3, the province has seven other phases to complete the twinning, including Phase 2 (10 km – Highway 3X/Coleman bypass), Phase 3 (15 km – east of Seven Persons to Medicine Hat), Phase 4 (47 km – Blairmore to east of Highway 6 at Pincher Creek), Phase 5 (28 km – east of Bow Island to east of Seven Persons), Phase 6 (23 km – east of Burdett to east of Bow Island), Phase 7 (38 km – Pincher Creek to west of Fort Macleod), and Phase 8 (8 km – Alberta-B.C. border to Highway 3X).

Associated with the Highway 3 twinning project is further development of the highway’s agri-food processing corridor.

“We’ve got schools that are being renovated and built in the riding, it’d be great to see those progress. Obviously the agri-food processing corridor is my main focus right now,” said Hunter. “That’s going to be transformational in that area. And if we land some of the big deals that we’re looking at, there’s going to be some really good growth opportunities, GDP growth opportunities.”

Growing conditions are looking favourable throughout much of Taber-Warner riding right now with seeding completed.

“I know that in some of the dry land areas, there is some concern about about drought this year. I talked to the ag minister and he was saying that down in the south. So I don’t know whether or not there’s a lot of areas in my riding that are going to be affected by that. As you know, it’s very regional where those droughts will actually happen. So he’s said he’s keeping an eye on that right now. So we’ll see. We’ll keep an eye on that, we’ve got a good suite of supports for failure in crops.”