No Roads to Riches: Meeting Future Travel Demand in Alberta

Within Canada, Alberta is projected to be one fastest growing provinces, both in demographics and size of its economy. If current trends continue, its transportation network will need to grow significantly to facilitate the future movement of goods and people. This study looks specifically at the transportation corridor between Alberta’s two largest cities of Edmonton and Calgary. This study’s projections and highway capacity analysis predict that the main highway between the two cities will not be able to meet future demand; as a result, commercial traffic movements will halt and will severely hinder the Albertan Economy. This study looks at three different infrastructure investments to accommodate future traffic growth, including addition lane upgrades, bypass routes, and a high speed rail line. The results of multi criteria analysis finds that construction of additional lanes upgrades will maintain traffic flow within the Edmonton Calgary transportation corridor.