Gravel pit next to West Springs homes to operate 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for 5 years

The contractor building the southwest ring road will soon be digging a new gravel pit just steps away from million-dollar homes in West Springs.

'Let's be honest ... this is not great news,' Calgary councillor says of ring-road-related project

CBC News · Posted: Jan 27, 2017 10:27 AM EST | Last Updated: January 27, 2017

Ward 6 Coun. Richard Pootmans says a new gravel pit for the southwest ring road 'is not great news' but is necessary. (CBC)

The contractor building the southwest Calgary ring road will soon be digging a new gravel pit, just steps away from million-dollar homes in West Springs.

The steady traffic of heavy trucks hauling gravel to the ring road project several kilometres away is sure to create noise and dust issues for the nearby community, the area councillor says.

"It will not be trouble-free," said Coun. Richard Pootmans. "Let's be honest about it — it's a gravel pit operation. This is not great news."

"[But] it's important news. The government's going to do all it can to mitigate it. And we'll be all over it to make sure they do. There will be days where it will probably be dustier than it should and we'll make sure the water trucks get out there as soon as we hear about it."

Coun. Richard Pootmans says there will inevitably be noise and dust issues associated with a major gravel pit to be located on this land adjacent to the West Springs district. (Scott Dippel/CBC)

Resident Christina Cao says news of the gravel pit surprised her.

"Noise and dust and we have kids in the house that go in the backyard, so that'll be a big concern," she said.

Construction on the gravel pit will start in the next few weeks. It will operate 12 hours a day, seven days a week for the next five years while the southwest ring road is being built a few kilometres to the south.

5-year construction job

The southwest portion of the ring road is scheduled to be completed in 2021.

It will stretch from Highway 22x to Highway 8 along the city's western edge and through land purchased from the Tsuut'ina Nation.

The 31-kilometre six- and eight-lane divided highway will have 49 bridges, one rail overpass and 14 interchanges.

The final segment of the ring road — West Calgary Ring Road — will run between Highway 1 and Glenmore Trail near 101st Street S.W. and feature 26 bridges and six interchanges.

The consortium building the southwest ring road in Calgary is going to operate an around-the-clock gravel pit just west of West Springs. (Government of Alberta)

The province says the timing and construction details for that nine-kilometre stretch is under review.

Pootmans says the gravel pit could wind up being a positive thing for residents of West Springs, since the West Calgary Ring Road will be built over top of the sunken pit once it closes, giving the freeway a lower elevation relative to the adjacent houses.