Mill Creek residents face weeks of detours as 137 Avenue bridge repair begins over Horseshoe Creek

Residents in Mill Creek and surrounding areas are bracing for nine weeks of disruption as reconstruction of the 137 Avenue bridge at Horseshoe Creek begins the first week of September, weather permitting. The bridge was washed out in July after heavy rainfall caused significant erosion and made the crossing unsafe, leaving the neighbourhood with only one access road and transforming an originally planned $2.7 million repair job into a much larger undertaking.

The city, Epcor, and developer Rohit have been ready to begin work on the 137 Avenue road crossing since 2024, but the project was paused at the request of the province after a Jan. 24 Order in Council added 238 hectares to Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park. Mayor Andrew Knack explained the sequence: "As the communities of Big Lake were developing out, there was an understanding that the roadway infrastructure was not enough to support a full-buildout. Developers had planned all the work and then a couple of weeks before they were going to start in spring of 2024, the provincial government came forward to say 'Hold on, we're doing some master planning for LHCPP. You can't go forward until we're done that work.' Rohit is ready to go and the residents have been desperately seeking this. They could have started along with the culvert repair this spring, but for any combination of reasons that is not yet done."

Knack noted that the stretch of 137 Avenue turning into 199 Street was an upgraded rural road not meeting urban standards.

The July incident accelerated the timeline. Epcor determined that the original 800-millimetre culvert was inadequate for modern storm surges and replaced it with a 2,000-mm one before returning the project to the city on Aug. 31 for completion. The repair work will restore safe vehicle and pedestrian access by replacing the culvert, stabilizing creek slopes, rebuilding and widening the embankment, restoring and repaving the roadway, and adding a new shared path.

Knack said the city can proceed with the culvert and bridge repairs but cannot move forward with the road redesign until the province finalizes plans for the park expansion. The Ministry of Forestry and Parks confirmed it has not yet received an application from Edmonton and St. Albert for the roadwork in relation to the park's expansion. Press secretary Riley Gough said: "Alberta Parks is aware and supportive of the LeClair Way West project, which is led by the City of Edmonton and the City of St. Albert. The department of Forestry and Parks remain in communication with both municipalities on this project. An application has not yet been made for the construction of LeClair Way West. Further inquiries should be directed to the City of St. Albert and the City of Edmonton. Once the application is received, the ministry will undertake the appropriate environmental evaluation of the proposal to ensure disturbance to LHCPP is minimized."

Responsibility for the project appears fragmented. The city initially directed inquiries to St. Albert as project lead, but St. Albert's transportation manager Dean Schick said the province is holding the pen: "The City of St. Albert is not preparing plans for LHCPP. This project falls under the jurisdiction of the Province of Alberta."

Both Epcor and the city insist Edmontonians won't have to pay any additional taxes or rates to cover the increased costs.

As reported in July, part of 137th Avenue had collapsed over Horseshoe Creek in northwestern Edmonton after heavy rainfall.