4th Street SE Underpass Now Open

The opening today of a major new transportation connector leading into and out of downtown Calgary means the drive home tonight will be a whole lot easier for thousands of commuters.

The four-lane 4^th Street SE Underpass, which is a joint effort of CMLC and the City of Calgary’s Department of Transportation, connects Olympic Way SE at 11^th Avenue SE near Stampede Park, with 4^th Street SE at 9^th Avenue SE by dipping below the CP Rail tracks.

After more than three years of planning and construction, and an estimated 340,000 direct man hours, the $70 million 4^th Street SE Underpass is a critical piece of infrastructure which connects East Village and downtown Calgary to the southern Beltline communities and beyond. It’s expected to accommodate 22,100 vehicle trips a day once the build-out of East Village is complete.

Calgarians enjoying hockey games at the Saddledome or events at StampedeParkwill enjoy the immediate benefits of the underpass with a faster and more direct commute. However, the4th Street SE Underpass is also expected to deliver significant longer-term economic benefits by enabling new development inCalgary’s east end.

“This underpass is critical to the future development of East Village,” said Michael Brown, CMLC’s president and CEO. “But it also supports the Calgary Stampede master plan redevelopment, the National Music Centre and other projects slated for the area.”

The 4^th Street SE Underpass includes design features to make pedestrians and cyclists more comfortable using the link. Apart from wide, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and dedicated bicycle lanes, the underpass features state-of-the-art LED lighting in its walls and handrails to make the space lighter and more inviting. It also houses a unique kinetic artwork installation in its canopy.

Hundreds of aluminum fins are set within a galvanized metal armature.  The fins are fastened to pivots that allow each fin to move with the motion of the wind or a passing train and allow light to penetrate the space below.

“This is a great piece of infrastructure,” said Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi. “This will dramatically improve connectivity inCalgary– connectivity not just between north and south, but between people, neighbourhoods and communities. It’s an important step towards creating a more vibrant downtown core.”

Preparation for the 4^th Street SE Underpass began in 2008 and involved the relocation and lowering of significant underground utility works, relocation of approximately 3,500 meters of rail storage tracks from downtown to the Highfield Industrial area, lowering 4^th Street SE and 9^th Avenue SE, and removing roughly 60,000 tonnes of dirt. The underpass was also realigned to save the historic King Eddy Hotel and make the dream of the National Music Centre possible.

The cost of the underpass project is shared by CMLC and the City of Calgary’s Transportation Infrastructure Investment Plan (TIIP), with CMLC committing $42 million and the City contributing $28 million.  Through a competitive tendering process, Graham Construction was awarded the contract to build the 4^th Street SE Underpass.  The structural design of the underpass was undertaken by Stantec Consulting Ltd. and Buckland & Taylor Ltd., with architectural considerations undertaken by Broadway Malyan and Marshall Tittemore Architects.