WATCH: Be one of the first to see the 40th Avenue Overpass

Today (October 12) was a special day for The City of Airdrie as it marked the grand opening of the 40th Avenue Overpass (not open to the public until October 13, 7 a.m.).

The grand opening saw many Airdronians who had a hand in the whole process, including city officials, local Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), the construction crews and Government of Alberta Ministers.

The project was finished on schedule, lasting two years and costing $65 million.

"It's just truly a great day for our community and regions. The addition of the 40th Avenue Interchange will allow for residents and businesses to effectively move safely and efficiently throughout our community," stated Airdrie Mayor, Peter Brown.

Airdrie Fire Chief, Mike Pirie, believes this interchange will affect themselves and the number of collisions we see on other major routes.

"Having that east-west access on the south side of the city is a bit of a game changer for us. Specifically, when you're looking at areas like South Point, which can now be serviced through the King's Heights Fire Station that's actually on the east side of the city. This is a big deal for the fire department."

Alberta Minister of Transportation Devin Dreeshen believes this construction project will make other people want to move to Airdrie.

"This goes a long way to make sure that the province of Alberta will continue to grow and will continue to be a magnet for people wanting to move into Alberta from around the country and the world."

According to Dreeshen, the Government of Alberta provided $30 million for this project. He also stated there are about 85,000 vehicles per day that travel through this area. 

The Minister of Infrastructure, also the Airdrie-Cochrane MLA, Peter Guthrie stated the advocacy the City of Airdrie promoted to the government of Alberta was a big part of this project.

"I just can't say enough of all the hard work from this administration that they put in. As an area resident, I am so happy that we're going to get this open and be able to get back up to speed."

Mayor Brown does hope this is only the start of multiple big projects that will be coming to Airdrie in the future.

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