The government says they will not release cost estimates until the contract has been awarded but does say that a project like this would cost between $100 and $120 million.

The project is to include the twinning of 19 kilometres of highway from south of the city to just south of the Norbord Wood Panel Plant, a second bridge over the Wapiti River with a pedestrian walkway, bridge and intersection improvements and a median vehicle inspection station.

They add that traffic on this segment of Highway 40 has increased by approximately 70 per cent over the last five years.

In September of last year, the County released a report that they hoped would advocate for the twinning project. That report showed that traffic on this segment of Highway 40 has increased by approximately 70 per cent over the last five years.

“This investment recognizes the urgency of expediting work on this key transportation link to improve safety for workers in the region’s resource sectors as well as tourists travelling to and from the mountain parks and beyond,” said County of Grande Prairie Reeve Leanne Beaupre. “Enhancements to Highway 40 are vital to stimulating economic development, including the recently announced Tri-Municipal Industrial Partnership Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Alberta. By working together, we can inject dollars into infrastructure upgrades when they’re most needed.”

The former NDP government had an alignment plan that been finalized to twin the stretch of road that would see construction begin in 2022, and be completed in 2024, and that an additional bridge over the Wapiti River would be built by the end of 2018.

This is the first announcement the United Conservative Party has made on the project since taking office in the spring of 2019.