On December 19, 2023, after decades of consultation, planning and construction, the West Calgary Ring Road from Highway 8 in the south to Old Banff Coach Road opened, completing the 101 km ring road around Calgary, Alberta. The project site on the west side of Calgary featured steep grades with much of the mainline freeway lying within a 10-15 m cut section which abruptly transitioned to a 10 m gravel pit infill section, and then back to a deep cut section again. Total excavation quantities were over 8.5 million cubic metres, moving earth from the cut sections to the gravel pit infill. There were significant amounts of lacustrine material that was not suitable for roadway embankment and was used to fill other areas throughout the site to achieve an earthwork balance, requiring no off-site disposal.
CIMA+’s scope of work included roadway geometric design, detailed design of 5 km of six- and eight-lane divided freeway (mainline), 1 km of four-lane divided expressway (Bow Trail SW), reconstruction of approximately 1 km each of Old Banff Coach Road S.W. and 17 Avenue S.W., implementation of two roundabouts and eight signalized intersections, one system interchange at Highway 8 with a basket weave design, two half interchanges at Old Banff Coach Road S.W and 17 Avenue S.W. and a partial cloverleaf interchange at Bow Trail. Sanitary and water utility work was also included.