Calgarians should brace themselves for numerous traffic disruptions amid a busy road construction season, said city officials. To reduce frustration, they are highlighting an upgraded online tool to help motorists plan ahead and better navigate headaches caused by construction.
Online Tool to Aid Navigation
“Calgary is a winter city and we have a short construction season and a lot of important work has to be delivered in that time,” said Anthony El-araj, the city’s manager of traffic services. “We understand that traffic can be frustrating at times which is why our team is actively coordinating with various agencies and projects to minimize disruption of travel.”
The online tool lists closures, detours, incidents, pedestrian and transit information, estimated travel times, downtown conditions, and camera views of vehicle flows. Icons on a map lead to detailed information on each closure or incident. Launched in 2025, the tool was upgraded late last year and has proven popular with Calgarians.
Construction Season Details
El-araj said the summer road work season will be busy, similar to last year’s which saw 3,200 construction projects resulting in 7,700 traffic incidents. In 2025, Calgary was ranked as having the eighth-worst traffic congestion in the country, a number that improved to ninth, said Zi Wang, leader of congestion management and smart mobility for the city.
“As a driver, I also get frustrated but considering the size of our city, we’re doing pretty well,” Wang said. “Considering all the new drivers and population growth, we’re still able to lower that ranking.”
Stampede Week Measures
City officials will ensure traffic disruptions are minimized during hectic Stampede Week, particularly in the downtown core when work along the exhibition’s parade route is halted, said El-araj. “We try to limit the amount of closures during Stampede — on 6th and 9th Avenues, (crews) have to remove their work areas from the parade route,” he said. “But there’s a lot of work this year that’s planned, a lot of different projects competing for the same space.”
Traffic Management Centre
From the city’s Traffic Management Centre on Spiller Rd. S.E., traffic is constantly monitored on a wall of video screens, from which more than 6,000 signal timing changes were made manually last year to ensure smoother vehicle flow. On-peak and off-peak timing changes are done automatically, Wang added. “There’s a lot of things happening behind the scenes that people don’t see,” he said.
