Industry tackles Highway 63 interchange

Here’s a new twist for one of Canada’s largest oil producers.

Suncor Energy, the pioneering oil sands developer, will build a C$55 million interchange on a busy northeast Alberta highway, then hand ownership to the provincial government — no strings attached.

The interchange will be constructed on Highway 63, about 15 miles north of Fort McMurray, where traffic averages about 17,000 vehicles per day, more than triple the volume of 10 years ago, reflecting the rapid development expansion in the area.

A spokeswoman for Alberta Transportation said direct industry investment in infrastructure allows oil sands developments to move ahead earlier than if the interchange had been forced to compete with all other projects across the province.

She said Canadian Natural Resources is also working to improve an intersection in the same general region.

By seizing the initiative, these companies are easing the burden on the Alberta government, which has faced growing criticism for its failure to plan properly for the industrial development it has permitted.

In opening a new session of the Alberta legislature April 15, the government of Premier Ed Stelmach indirectly acknowledged the problems it has created by promising to unveil later this year a long-term strategy for the oil sands.

As well as dealing with the pressures on public services and infrastructure, that plan will examine alternative energy sources and the “importance of responsible energy use, efficiency and conservation.”

—Gary Park