Calgary – Darshan Kang, Alberta Liberal critic for Infrastructure and Transportation, says that the construction of a tunnel to compensate for the closure of Barlow Trail north of McKnight Boulevard is absolutely necessary to protect the quality of life and economic prosperity of northeast Calgary. 

The addition of a fourth runway to the Calgary International Airport will result in the partial closure of Barlow Trail, an important transportation link connecting northeast Calgary with the airport. Unless a tunnel under the runway is completed, all traffic will be routed onto Country Hills Boulevard and the already congested Deerfoot Trail, with huge impacts on local businesses and the quality of life of Calgarians.

Kang is urging the Stelmach Conservatives to join the City of Calgary and the Calgary Airport Authority in pledging the necessary funds to complete the project and to meet with the federal government to secure their cooperation and funding. The cost is estimated at $287 million now, but will be much more expensive if the project is delayed. Alberta’s share would be roughly a third of that cost.

Kang met with Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette on Wednesday afternoon to argue in the tunnel’s favour, but the Minister told Kang that Calgary is already getting enough infrastructure money.

“I told the Minister I’ve been working on this ever since I learned we need this airport tunnel,” Kang says. “I asked the Minister to give his full support for the airport tunnel, because it would not only be good for northeast Calgary, but for the whole of Calgary, the province and the country.”

Kang has raised the issue multiple times in the Legislature, citing widespread concerns in Calgary about traffic jams, environmental and safety issues, and the spectre of huge economic impacts on local businesses that depend upon access to the airport.

“As of now there are between forty and fifty thousand cars travelling on Barlow every day, and all of those cars will be funneled off onto Deerfoot Trail. Deerfoot Trail is already at capacity and we sit in traffic jams for hours and hours. We need this airport tunnel to have a free flow of traffic around the airport,” Kang says.

“There are 200,000 people on the east side of Calgary who will be affected by this immediately,” Kang says. “All Albertans will be affected if we don’t build this airport tunnel.”

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