I join Calgary-West residents and all Calgarians in lauding the successful completion of the West Calgary Ring Road, which opened 10 months earlier than projected. Its completion is a game changer for Calgary-West residents. This $1.2 billion roadway is one of the largest infrastructure undertakings in Calgary’s history. The West Calgary section marks the opening of the entire ring road that provides over 101 km of free-flow travel around the city. Running from Highway 8 to the Trans-Canada Highway, it houses nine km of six- and eight-lane divided highway, six interchanges, 24 bridges, and includes a widened bridge where Stoney Trail NW meets the Bow River to accommodate future traffic demand. The Calgary Ring Road is expected to reduce congestion, and will improve trade routes and access to hospitals, schools, and workplaces.
Planned for decades, construction began in 2019. Since 2014, I have been actively involved with numerous consultations with constituents, community leaders, and pertinent professionals regarding the design and location of the west section of this roadway. Accommodations by all concerned parties were made.
Beginning in 2024, Alberta’s government will continue to offer fuel tax relief when oil prices are high, even as the province transitions back to the original fuel tax relief program, which is based on average quarterly oil prices.
Albertans will save some or all of the provincial fuel tax on gasoline and diesel when oil prices are $80 per barrel or higher during each quarter’s review period. The government’s fuel tax relief efforts, which include the pause to the end of 2023 and additional savings over the first three months of 2024, are forecast to reduce other tax revenue by $524 million in 2023-24.
Although oil prices have been below $80 in recent weeks, Albertans will continue to save at least four cents per litre on the provincial fuel tax in the first three months of 2024 as the tax is phased back in.
Please contact my office should you have any constituency related concerns that you would like to bring to my attention.
Mike Ellis MLA, Calgary-West
MLA – Calgary West Mike Ellis proudly serves the following Communities: Aspen Estates, Aspen Woods, Christie Park, Discovery Ridge, Signal Hill, Springbank Hill, Strathcona
