Author of the article: Dylan Short
Publishing date: Oct 02, 2021 •
The southwest portion of Calgary’s ring road opened to traffic Saturday amid a continued call of opposition from a man whose family was displaced by the project.
The section of the highway from Fish Creek Blvd. to Highway 22x opened on Saturday evening, five years after construction first began on the major roadway. The southwest section of the ring road is made up of 31 kilometres of six-lane and eight-lane divided highways, a road flyover, a railway crossing, 49 bridges, a tunnel and three river crossings.
The road is expected to carry 80,000 to 100,000 vehicles a day for the next 30 years and reduce commuter congestion within the city.
Twelve kilometres of the section known as Tsuut’ina Trail, between Sarcee Trail and Fish Creek Boulevard, opened in October 2020.
During the provincial announcement, Seth Cardinal Dodginghorse, a man who lost his house and had to move because of the road, briefly took over the mic.
Dodginghorse called on members of the Tsuut’ina Nation to stand with him and called on chief and council not to sell any land. His remarks have been edited out of the official provincial video of the announcement posted online.
Parts of the road have been constructed on land the province acquired from the Tsuut’ina Nation in a $341-million deal that included a $275-million lump sum payment plus $65 million to move homes.
“Just because you give a colonial economic development an Indigenous name, just because you call a road the Tsuut’ina Trail, that does not mean that harm hasn’t been done,” said Dodginghorse. “To the privileged Calgarians and Albertans that will be travelling on this road, I strongly say, do not drive on this road.”
Following the announcement Dodginghorse said that he has not been compensated for having to move his home. He said he is not a nation member due to the federal Indian Act.
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said he was glad Dodginghorse stated his point of view but that ultimately they have to listen to the community, where he said the majority of people supported the road.
Nenshi said elders in the community blessed the road, chief and council voted in favour of it and a referendum saw a significant majority of registered members of the nation vote to agree to the land transfer deal that led to the road being completed.
“It’s important that you’re here and it’s important that we hear that,” said Nenshi. “But ultimately, we also have to listen to the entire community who made a statement about wanting to get out of poverty, about wanting to develop economically and about wanting to build new relationships with their neighbours.”
Dodginghorse had previously shared his concerns at the October 2020 opening of the Tsuut’ina Trail segment of the ring road, some of which was built on former Tsuut’ina First Nation land.
Nenshi said he was thrilled to be part of the ceremony Saturday and that it would be his second-last major infrastructure announcement before he steps away from the mayor’s seat later this year.
Transportation Minister Rajan Sawhney said the road, one of the largest infrastructure projects built in Alberta, cost $1.42-billion to complete and created 2,000 jobs. The federal government committed $334 million to the road.
“Opening this section of the ring road is a major accomplishment and builds on Alberta’s recovery plan to create jobs, build infrastructure and diversify our economy,” said Sawhney.
She said the road is part of a larger east-to-west corridor that will improve access to various markets inside and outside the province.
She also thanked former transportation minister Ric McIver for his work on the file as well as Tsuut’ina Chief Roy Whitney. McIver was in attendance for the opening.
Construction of the road has been met with criticism and noise complaints from people who live alongside the project. Sawhney said Saturday that the province has been monitoring noise along the road and will continue to do so. She said anyone who has issues with noise from traffic can reach out to the project.
“Any concerns that come from the community are taken seriously. So, we’ll continue monitoring and I would encourage everyone to send in their feedback back to Alberta Transportation,” said Sawhney.
The full ring road is not yet complete. The west portion of the ring road is scheduled to be completed in 2024, the South Bow River Bridge project is scheduled to be complete in 2023 and the northeast Stoney Trail widening project is scheduled to be finished later this year.
Mic cut as Tsuut'ina man takes podium in protest at Calgary's southwest ring road opening
Road opens following years of construction
An Indigenous man whose family lost their land took over the podium during celebratory remarks from government officials as the last portion of the $1.4-billion southwest Calgary ring road opened on Saturday.
Seth Cardinal Dodginghorse says his family has been greatly affected by the ring road after they were forced from their land. When the first stretch of the road opened last year he cut his braids in protest.
His mic was cut on the provincial video feed of the road's opening ceremony on Saturday, but it was recorded by a media pool camera feed.
Transportation Minister Rajan Sawhney, Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver and Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi marked the opening of the southwest ring road at 2 p.m., closing the road to public travel.
As McIver introduced Nenshi, Dodginghorse instead took to the podium, followed by police officers.
"I honestly do not want to be here right now," he said.
Part of the freeway is built on land the province acquired from the Tsuut'ina First Nation in 2013.
"I know that there are people on Tsuut'ina who are still hurting by what this road has caused, they are still feeling it. I know I am still feeling it," he said.
He challenged Tsuut'ina Chief Roy Whitney to not sell or lease land, and his relatives and other Tsuut'ina people to stand with him.
He said just because the projects have been given Indigenous names doesn't mean harm hasn't been done.
"To the privileged Albertans and Calgarians that are travelling on this road, I strongly say do not drive on this road and do not drive on Tsuut'ina Trail," he said.
"I am against this road, I am against what it stands for, and what these economic developments stand for."
Nenshi spoke following Dodginghorse's remarks.
Dodginghorse spoke to the mayor from off-camera, after Nenshi said he worked to bring clean drinking water to Tsuut'ina Nation. Dodginghorse said he does not have clean drinking water at his home.
Nenshi said 75 per cent of Tsuut'ina members voted in favour of the ring road.
"I understand you disagree ... but ultimately we have to listen to the entire community."
"One of the things I said at the beginning is that this road only works if the Tsuut'ina approve of it. And indeed, in a referendum, the Tsuut'ina did approve of it. Overwhelmingly," Nenshi said.
When the province later posted video of the event, Dodginghorse was cut out of the video.
Long-awaited connection
The southwest ring road is 31 kilometres of six- and eight-lane divided highway, stretching from Highway 8 to Macleod Trail S.E.
Construction on the southwest portion of the ring road started in 2017. The first 15-kilometre segment, between Glenmore Trail and 146th Avenue S.W., opened last year.
The Alberta government was in charge of construction.
"Calgarians have been waiting for five long years for this day," Sawhney said.
She said the project created 2,000 jobs, and work is continuing on the west Calgary ring road.
The entire ring road was supposed to open in 2022, but has been delayed by two years, and is expected to open in 2024.
No comments:
Post a Comment