A date has been set for the temporary closure of the Centre Ave. and 1st St. intersection to begin the final phase of improving Centre Avenue traffic flow and to upgrade East Cochrane’s storm system. 

Drew Hyndman, the town's executive director of Development and Infrastructure Services, says it will be closed on Tuesday, Aug. 8, following the August Long Weekend, for work that's expected to take a month to complete, weather permitting.

Centre Ave. is being adjusted as part of a project to improve traffic flow from Hwy. 1A throughout the downtown core and onto Griffin Rd. It includes relocating the utilities and widening the road. The storm system for East Cochrane is being upgraded at the same time to eliminate the need to close the intersection again at a later date. 

"We appreciate that it causes some inconvenience for residents and visitors to our community, but we felt the summertime was the best time to do this, and our objective is to get this completed as quickly as possible," says Hyndman.

During construction, there are alternate routes motorists can travel.

"We're really encouraging people to utilize 5th," says Hyndman, "and of course, we've made the improvements on Hwy. 1A and we're excited to complete that project in the next month as well."

Those who exit 1A onto Centre can turn off onto William St. before reaching the construction zone but it makes more sense to avoid it altogether unless your destination is in the immediate area.

The entire Hwy.1A - Centre Ave. project is viewed as a major step forward in addressing traffic flow issues that plague Cochrane, especially during rush hours.

Centre Ave sectionA section of the improvement project showing Centre Ave. from Hwy. 1A south to the CP mainline. (Image/Town of Cochrane)