An 8-lane QEII out of Calgary? It's 1 priority project among 160 potential ones

Calgary city council got a look at a 20-year planning document which examines future transportation projects to link the north end of Calgary with surrounding municipalities.

The North Calgary Regional Transportation Study lays out 161 projects related to roads, bridges and transit that might be required on both sides of the boundary for the efficient movement of people and goods.

• Jump to the bottom of this story to see the full map of potential projects.

The study, which was requested by the province, envisions things like expandingHighway 2 between Calgary and Airdrie to eight lanes,and creating a highway link between the northeast corner of Stoney Trail and the Town of Crossfield.

There are also plans to increase the number of road links between Calgary and communities like Airdrie, Cochrane, Chestermere, and even Crossfield, with the construction of new interchanges.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi says there's no money for these projects, as this is more of a long-term planning project.

"It was a technical analysis and evaluation, and it really has to be evaluated before any decisions are made in the context of what's right for Calgary and what's right for the region."

A similar study is underway on future transportation projects that would link the south end of Calgary with surrounding communities.

"For decades and decades and decades, Calgary grew through annexation. So we're one of the few cities for our size in North America that is really mostly one city," Nenshi said.

"And the question now is:how do we work with these regional partners to create thoughtful growth for the whole region?"