Accommodating growth and safety.
Paula E. Kirman
Thanks to provincial government construction of a four-lane highway to Jasper beginning in 1949, 149 Street was straightened and the width of Stony Plain Road (SPR) at the entrance to what would become known as Jasper Place was doubled.
The Province wished to double the width of what was then Edmonton’s west highway entrance in order to correct the difficulties posed by the approach grade of the ravine, which needed to be decreased as a safety measure1.
A goal was also to improve and straighten the south approach to Stony Plain Road and the Jasper Highway2. A method by which this was achieved was by putting in fill across the ravine to straighten and raise the SPR approach. At the same time, 149 Street ran awkwardly through the ravine, so its approach needed to be decreased and the level raised to improve the safety of the intersection with the highway entrance1.
Another goal was to resolve traffic congestion from the Jasper Highway into West Jasper Place due to the growth of the area and because a drive-in theatre opened south of the highway3. At the time, the area known as West Jasper Place (west of 149 Street) was administered under the Municipal District of Spruce Grove No. 519. On December 29, 1949, that area was Incorporated as the Village of West Jasper Place and became the Town of Jasper Place on November 6, 1950.
The construction work resulted in the closure of the Jasper Highway, with traffic diverted from the city limits at 149th Street westward to 156 Street4.
RCMP officers also had to contend with motorists speeding through the construction zone where the speed limit had been reduced to 10 miles per hour5.
References
1“Improve Street At City Gateway.” Edmonton Journal, Thursday, September 29, 1949, p. 3
2“Jasper Road Work Starts.” The Edmonton Bulletin, September 29, 1949, p. 2
3“Wider Entrances To City.” Edmonton Journal, Monday, August 29, 1949
4“Divert Traffic in West Edmonton.” Edmonton Journal, Tuesday, October 25, 1949, p. 13
5Edmonton Journal, Thursday, October 20, 1949, p. 33
Paula E. Kirman is a freelance writer who grew up, and still lives, near the Jasper Place area.
[This post is appeared as an article in Spring 2025’s SPANN.]
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