Calgary Airport Trail Tunnel Opens To Traffic

Yesterday, the Calgary Airport Trail Tunnel was officially opened to the public with a grand opening event including a show and shine featuring several local car clubs, food trucks and live entertainment. Thousands of people made their way to the tunnel via a series of shuttle buses to walk through the tunnel for the first and only time as there are no sidewalks along the tunnel. This morning marks the official opening of the tunnel to traffic with three lanes in each direction connecting 36 street NE to Barlow Trail and the airport terminals.

Unfortunately, until Airport Trail is extended to Metis Trail and Stoney Trail (Provincial Ring Road) the tunnel is not really that useful. It literally is a tunnel to nowhere at the moment. The tunnel was built with an official budget of just under $295 Million, but if you factor in all the required interchanges for the full complete link to Metis Trail and Stoney Trail the price tag jumps significantly. Still, the project is required and while the optics are terrible, building it later when it is actually needed will cost much more. The annual bill for operating the airport tunnel will be approximately $1M with half of that paying for the premiums on the $1B insurance policy the City of Calgary was forced to take out.

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Calgary Airport Trail Tunnel Grand Opening

The City of Calgary unveiled the Airport Tunnel, the first true tunnel in the city, to the public today by hosting a show and shine with car clubs around the city. Thousands made their way to the festivities, with huge lineups at the Westwinds C-Train station where anxious citizens waited to be packed into busses to shuttle them to the tunnel’s east entrance. Many of the local clubs were present, including ZR Auto and the Ferrari Club of Alberta. The cars lined the westbound lanes, giving a chance for Calgarians to get up close and personal with some amazing machinery.

Several of our very own members had their cars out at the show today, including the awesome Ferrari F50, powered by an engine derived from a 90’s era Formula One motor. With only 349 examples manufactured, it’s a rare sight to see on Calgary roads.

Much more exotics after the click.