Trans-Canada Highway stretch through Golden, B.C., reopens Wednesday

B.C.-bound Calgarians are getting some welcome news as the Trans-Canada Highway will reopen to traffic for day use through Golden Wednesday morning and stay that way until spring.

Since Sept. 20, theKicking Horse Canyon highway project has rerouted traffic southon Highway 93 from the Castle Junction intersection west of Banff and east of Lake Louise in Banff National Park, travelling through Kootenay National Park, then north on Highway 95 from Radium, B.C.

The detour, with two suspensions in that time, has forced 10,000 vehicles per day onto the alternate routesand added to commutes.

Mike Lorimer, executive project director for the Kicking Horse Canyon phase 4 project, says the highway will reopen at6 a.m. on Dec. 1, but there will still be overnight closures.

"We have a nice clear window during the day when folks can go back to using our Trans-Canada Highway project and see some of the great work that's been accomplished over the last 2months."

Overnight, there will still be closures from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m through the winter, Lorimer says. In the spring, there may be more 24-hour closures.

The fourth phase of the project is an upgrade to approximately 4.8 kilometres of highway, which realigns 13 curves and widens the highway to four lanes with a median barrier and wider shoulders to accommodate cyclists.

The entire project has an expected completion date of Nov. 23, 2024.