New Highway 15 pedestrian bridge opens
Posted July 31, 2023 3:42 pm.
Last Updated July 31, 2023 7:25 pm.
Connecting both sides of the river. A newly opened pedestrian bridge near Fort Saskatchewan officially connects the longest pedestrian River Valley Trail in North America.
“We’re so excited to get on there that they were climbing under just to get on to the bridge,” said Kristine Archibald, executive director of River Valley Alliance.
It’s been three years in the making. The $5 million Highway 15 underslung pedestrian bridge is part of the Highway 15 twinning project started in 2019.
The footbridge is part of a larger project that will connect Edmonton’s far northeast bedroom communities to those in the far southwest.
“Eventually connect to the trails in Devon there’s 25 kilometres left to do and that’s what we’re working towards right now,” said Archibald.
Liberal Minister and Edmonton Centre MP Randy Boissonnault was on hand for the opening of the walkway — the bridge built in part with federal money for the Trans Canada Trail system.
“The federal government put in 30 million dollars and recently has put in another $5 million — and what you’re seeing behind us now is an actually connector, that brings people to one side of the river to the other side of the river. We even saw somebody on a scooter this morning. Lots of bikes, lots of pedestrians.”
