5 days ago
Construction closing downtown intersection and Saddledome access despite summer events
As the Calgary Stampede comes to a close, construction and closures are back under way around the city, and on the stampede grounds themselves will be no exception.
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Starting on Monday, July 21, the intersection of 12th Avenue S.E. and Stampede Trail S.E. will be closed in all directions. A detour will redirect drivers to north to 11th Avenue S.E., which will be shifted from a one-way street into a two-way road to accommodate the changes. Closures are expected to end in October, just before the start of the Calgary Flames ' season.
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The closure is in place to accommodate a Stampede Trail redevelopment running from 12th to 17th Avenue. Emma Stevens, director of communications for CMLC, said that they are 'turning that into a really lovely multimodal corridor that will support Scotia place and BMO Centre, and other future development. Coming on site, you'll have a great pedestrian route, great vehicle access, great cycling access.'
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Well this section is expected to be fully finished by the autumn deadline, Calgarians can expect on again and off again closures for years to come as construction attempts to bob-and-weave through the city's busiest seasons.
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'You know, coordinating construction in a district like this is a really interesting challenge. It is at once a district in development, but also a very active district,' Stevens said. 'Stampede Trail will have more work to come on it in the coming years, as will the other district infrastructure. So there's more road closures to come.'
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'We anticipate that as the vision progresses, we'll see more and more development and construction coming online. So hard to put a hard to put an end date to it,' she said.
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Stevens said the next few months are the quietest for the district, and that the time period was selected to minimize disruption before hockey games once more begin drawing large crowds. She recognized that, even in the quietest time of the year, a number of events would be effected by the closure.
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The Scotiabank Saddledome will see performances by artists like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Keith Urban, and Bryan Adams before the construction's goalpost end date. The BMO Centre — recently renovated to accommodate large-scale conventions and events year round — is expected to host several events, like the NEXT Food Expo.
