Ray Gibbon Drive
Ray Gibbon Drive, referred to as the West Regional Road during proposal and planning stages,[2] is a major arterial road in St. Albert, Alberta. Except for the Edmonton portion, it is only partially constructed as a two-lane road. Currently it is 8.2 kilometres (5.1 mi) long and runs between Anthony Henday Drive and Villeneuve Road. It was named, at the official opening of Stage One in October 2007,[3] after former mayor Ray Gibbon, who served from 1968 to 1974 and again in 1989. Gibbon died in 1999, but his wife and family were present for the official opening, riding in the vintage lead vehicle for the first use of the road.[3]
| 184 Street | |
   Start and end points of 184 Street and Ray Gibbon Drive | |
| Maintained by | Alberta Transportation City of Edmonton City of St. Albert |
|---|---|
184 Street | |
| Length | 6.1 km (3.8 mi)[1] |
| Location | Edmonton |
| South end | 100 Avenue |
| Major junctions | Stony Plain Road, 107 Avenue, 111 Avenue, 118 Avenue, Yellowhead Trail |
| North end | Anthony Henday Drive |
Ray Gibbon Drive (West Regional Road) | |
| Length | 8.3 km (5.2 mi)[1] |
| Location | Edmonton, St. Albert |
| South end | Anthony Henday Drive |
| Major junctions | LeClair Way, McKenney Avenue, Giroux Road |
| North end | Villeneuve Road |
Ray Gibbon Drive preceded in Edmonton as 184 Street, an arterial road which begins at 100 Avenue and travels north to Anthony Henday Drive.
Expansion history
Plans to extend and upgrade Ray Gibbon Drive have been steadily revised in Edmonton Capital Region Transportation Planning documents.[4][5]
As of 2020, construction had commenced on widening the road to a 4-lane expressway standard, as per requests in 2015 by St. Albert City Council instigated in its own transportation plan,[6] approved by the Province of Alberta in 2019.[7] Original plans for a freeway conversion were scrapped as it would cost too much.
Major intersections
| Location | km[1] | mi | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmonton | 0.0 | 0.0 | 100 Avenue – City Centre | At-grade (traffic lights); one-way eastbound | |
| 0.4 | 0.25 |  Stony Plain Road to Hwy 16A west | At-grade (traffic lights) | ||
| 1.8 | 1.1 | 107 Avenue | At-grade (traffic lights) | ||
| 2.5 | 1.6 | 111 Avenue | At-grade (traffic lights) | ||
| 3.2 | 2.0 | 116 Avenue / 118 Avenue | At-grade (traffic lights) | ||
| 3.9 | 2.4 |  Yellowhead Trail (Hwy 16) | Partial cloverleaf interchange (traffic signals); exit 379 on Hwy 16 | ||
| 6.1 0.0 | 3.8 0.0 |  Anthony Henday Drive (Hwy 216) | Partial cloverleaf interchange (traffic signals); exit 27 on Hwy 216 | ||
| North end of 184 Street • South end of Ray Gibbon Drive | |||||
| 1.0 | 0.62 | 137 Avenue | At-grade (traffic lights) | ||
| St. Albert | 2.0 | 1.2 | LeClair Way (137 Avenue realignment) | At-grade (traffic lights) | |
| 3.4 | 2.1 | Crosses the Sturgeon River | |||
| 4.8 | 3.0 | Meadowview Drive / McKenney Avenue | At-grade (traffic lights) | ||
| 6.1 | 3.8 | Giroux Road | At-grade (traffic lights) | ||
| 8.2 | 5.1 |  Villeneuve Road (Hwy 633) | At-grade (traffic lights) | ||
| Sturgeon County | Future extension to Highway 2 (no construction timeline) | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
Future
The City of St. Albert proposed an annexation of 38 ha (0.15 sq mi) of fragmented land from the City of Edmonton in January 2016,[8][9] which was adjusted to a proposed 46.3 ha (0.18 sq mi) in March 2021.[10] Throughout, St. Albert has maintained that it would simply be more cost efficient for it to service and maintain this small area, as the fragments are adjacent to serviced St. Albert land, while the natural barrier of the Anthony Henday Drive would make it less efficient for Edmonton to extend utility and other services.[11] The fragments are located in a small northwest section of the Anthony Henday transportation utility corridor (adjacent to the north side of Anthony Henday Drive), adjacent to the south side of St. Albert, east of the southern-most 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) stretch of Ray Gibbon Drive owned and serviced by the City of Edmonton (see #Major intersections), and to the west and south of 137 Avenue NW.[10]
See also
References
- Google (2017-11-01). "184 Street and Ray Gibbon Drive in Edmonton and St. Albert, AB" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
- "Alberta Transportation: Planning in the Capital Region" (PDF). Alberta Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- 2007 Annual Financial Report (PDF) (Report). City of St. Albert. 2007-12-31. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- Der, Jim (Spring 2010). Alberta Transportation: Planning in the Capital Region (PDF) (Report). Alberta Ministry of Transportation. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-03. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- "Province kicks in for Ray Gibbon Drive". St. Albert Gazette. 2012-05-24. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
- City of St. Albert Transportation Master Plan 2015 (PDF) (Report). City of St. Albert. 2015. p. 5-4. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- "Ray Gibbon Drive in St. Albert to be twinned over next decade, province says". CBC News. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- "Edmonton Land Annexation (2016 proposal)". City of St. Albert. 2019-11-12. Archived from the original on 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- "Proposed Boundary Adjustment (map of 2016 proposal)" (PDF). City of St. Albert. 2019-11-12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- "Proposed Boundary Adjustment (map of 2021 proposal)" (PDF). City of St. Albert. 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2021-09-13.
- "Edmonton Land Annexation (2021 updated proposal)". City of St. Albert. 2021-03-11. Archived from the original on 2021-07-02. Retrieved 2021-09-13.