Highway 3, considered a main transportation route in Alberta, is under study to gauge the costs and benefits of twinning it along its entire length.
The highway runs from British Columbia to Saskatchewan in the southern part of the province, and 115 of its 325 kilometres are already twinned.
Today, the Alberta government said it would provide just under $10,000 toward an updated study of the artery. A study in 2002 estimated the cost of twinning and its related economic benefits, but an update is needed to reflect current costs and advantages.
According to Alberta Transportation data, Highway 3 from the Crowsnest Pass to the Trans-Canada Highway in Medicine Hat “is a designated future freeway within the national Highway system.”
It has been the subject of numerous studies along several stretches of its length, and full twinning is supported by most of the cities and towns it passes through or near.
The largest of those is Lethbridge, which put its support behind full twinning of Highway 3 earlier this year.
