Airport Tunnel Rejected Again? **UPDATE** It's built!

[Incogneto]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

I'm still worried that a lot of Calgarians think the airport tunnel actually runs N-S and will replace the missing chunk of Barlow trail.

oh wow...not going to lie...I did!

[Bigtime]

Exactly, and I can't blame you for thinking that. I would assume it would be most peoples default thought when they heard "Barlow closed, but we are building an airport tunnel roadway".

[BlackArcher101]

I know of a few people that think it's running N-S as well. Oddly, they are all for it with that thought in mind, but when I clarify, they suddenly think it's stupid.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Exactly, and I can't blame you for thinking that. I would assume it would be most peoples default thought when they heard "Barlow closed, but we are building an airport tunnel roadway".

I wonder if this could be the reason so many people in the south keep referring to it as something that will only benefit NE residents. I know that will make use of an alternate route to the airport from the SE.

[Bigtime]

Another schematic of where the tunnel is going in relation to the airport and new runway/taxiways (it's the orange part):

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by ken0042

I wonder if this could be the reason so many people in the south keep referring to it as something that will only benefit NE residents. I know that will make use of an alternate route to the airport from the SE.

I've never understood that argument anyway. The vast majority of our infrastructure benefits the people who live closest to it. I'm in the NW, take the train daily, and have never taken it further south than Anderson Station. The $ spent on extending it to Somerset-Bridlewood don't benefit me at all, but that doesn't mean it was unnecessary.

Sometimes money goes to 22X upgrades, sometimes to Airport Trail upgrades. That's just how it goes.

[Nehkara]

Does anyone know when airport trail between Deerfoot and Harvest Hills Blvd is opening? Every day I see the signs that say, "Opening Soon" but no date...

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Nehkara

Does anyone know when airport trail between Deerfoot and Harvest Hills Blvd is opening? Every day I see the signs that say, "Opening Soon" but no date...

Due to the weather not allowing them to do a proper sealing on the bridge decks it has been delayed into 2013.

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Due to the weather not allowing them to do a proper sealing on the bridge decks it has been delayed into 2013.

That sucks.

Is there a spot where I can get updates on this?

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Nehkara

That sucks.

Is there a spot where I can get updates on this?

http://www.calgary.ca/Transportation...Extension.aspx

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by ken0042

I wonder if this could be the reason so many people in the south keep referring to it as something that will only benefit NE residents. I know that will make use of an alternate route to the airport from the SE.

At many times of day, Stoney - Airport Trail will be the quickest route to the airport from the SE. Basically any time that Deerfoot is slowed down, even a little bit. Or for those who like to go faster than the speed limit, anytime that you can average 5-10 km/h faster on Stoney than you can go on Deerfoot. The speed of traffic is often around 120 km/h on Stoney.

A couple of years ago, I went to google maps to figure out the distance to the terminal from the Deerfoot 22x intersection - comparing Deerfoot to Stoney Trail (a little bit rough because Stoney isn't there yet, so I had to make a couple of close estimates). The result was that the Stoney route was around 1.2 km further than Deerfoot, as Deerfoot spends a lot of time going E/W as it goes north through the city. If Deerfoot is free and clear, it would be quicker. But if one factor changes even a little bit, Stoney Trail/Airport Trail would probably become the shorter option.

Also, many people just don't like driving Deerfoot.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

I'm still worried that a lot of Calgarians think the airport tunnel actually runs N-S and will replace the missing chunk of Barlow trail.

So did I when I first heard about it, and the fact that that stretch of Barlow Trail isn't being replaced with a tunnel irks me. Is it a route I'd use a lot? Not really, but it seems silly to me not to provide the best possible access to an airport as busy as ours.

[The Yen Man]

Hmm, not going to lie, I thought it was running N-S as well. Looking at the map, it's totally not where I was thinking the tunnel would be.

[Madman]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

So did I when I first heard about it, and the fact that that stretch of Barlow Trail isn't being replaced with a tunnel irks me. Is it a route I'd use a lot? Not really, but it seems silly to me not to provide the best possible access to an airport as busy as ours.

Airport access will be direct to Deerfoot or Stoney - how are those not the best possible access routes?

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by Nehkara

Does anyone know when airport trail between Deerfoot and Harvest Hills Blvd is opening? Every day I see the signs that say, "Opening Soon" but no date...

That would have been awesome when I lived in Harvest Hills 5 years ago. I remember taking a taxi home from the airport costing me $20 when I lived right next to the airport!

[getbak]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

So did I when I first heard about it, and the fact that that stretch of Barlow Trail isn't being replaced with a tunnel irks me. Is it a route I'd use a lot? Not really, but it seems silly to me not to provide the best possible access to an airport as busy as ours.

A tunnel to replace Barlow's access would have been at least three times as long as the one they're building, and we know what a pain it was just to get this one approved.

Once Airport Trail through this tunnel is open, you'll be able to take Barlow to McKnight to Metis to the tunnel. It's a bit longer than Barlow was, but I doubt it would add five minutes to the total trip compared to what Barlow was.

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by getbak

A tunnel to replace Barlow's access would have been at least three times as long as the one they're building, and we know what a pain it was just to get this one approved.

Once Airport Trail through this tunnel is open, you'll be able to take Barlow to McKnight to Metis to the tunnel. It's a bit longer than Barlow was, but I doubt it would add five minutes to the total trip compared to what Barlow was.

Probably quite a bit more during rush hour. Lights will the big delay with Meti tr. compared to Barlow which had no lights between the airport all the way to McKnightish. Four sets of lights on Meti tr. in that same length of road.

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by FlameOn

Probably quite a bit more during rush hour. Lights will the big delay with Meti tr. compared to Barlow which had no lights between the airport all the way to McKnightish. Four sets of lights on Meti tr. in that same length of road.

Ultimately Metis is suppose to be freeway up to Stoney Trail I believe, so in the future you won't have to worry about light delays. So essentially, Metis replaces Barlow by moving it east a couple KMs.

[Acey]

McKnight is such a bottleneck, especially at 12 St... a tunnel replacing the former Barlow would not only have to be much longer, but would also necessitate massive improvements to McKnight, its interchange with Deerfoot, and its intersection with 19 St. I like the building of this tunnel now rather than later; take as much traffic off McKnight as soon as possible.

[You Need a Thneed]

A n/s tunnel makes sense for airport access. But it doesn't serve the main purpose of the tunnel, which is to provide skeletal road access between Deerfoot and Stoney, allowing the area to be developed.

Also, traffic studies showed that with Airport Trail complete, Metis won't be required to be a freeway, and in fact, traffic in the area will work better without Metis being a freeway. The classification of Metis has already been changed, so don't ever expect Metis to be a full freeway. It will likely get interchanges at 64th and Airport Trail, but 80th, CHB, and 128th probably will never be grade separated. As well, new intersections may be put in at 72nd Ave, 88th Ave, & 104th Ave.