Twinning Highway 3 in Budget 2026

Municipal Affairs
2 hours ago
2 min read

For decades, communities along Highway 3 have made the case for change. Stretching from Medicine Hat through Lethbridge and onward to the mountain corridors of the Crowsnest Pass, the route has served as a critical east-west link for agriculture, industry, and rural communities.

But much of it remains a narrow, two-lane highway — where motorists contend with powerful prairie crosswinds, heavy truck traffic, farm equipment, and limited passing opportunities.

Now, the Alberta government’s 2026 budget proposes nearly a quarter-billion dollars to continue twinning the highway in stages, including $152 million over the next three years to expand a 30-kilometre stretch east of Medicine Hat toward Seven Persons.

It builds on progress already underway near Taber, where improvements are nearing completion in one of the province’s fastest-growing agri-food regions.

It’s part of a broader vision first championed more than two decades ago: a continuous four-lane trade and transportation corridor linking southern Saskatchewan to British Columbia.

Today, roughly 220 kilometres remain undivided, including key bottlenecks near Bow Island and west toward Fort Macleod.

New funding will also advance engineering and design work through Indigenous and mountain communities, laying the groundwork for future construction.

For municipalities, businesses, and residents along the route, the stakes are high. Highway 3 is more than pavement — it’s an economic lifeline, a trade corridor, and for many, a matter of safety.

Today, we’re joined by Gordon Reynolds, Mayor of Bow Island and head of the Highway 3 Development Association. He represents the municipalities and industries that have spent years advocating for these upgrades.

We’ll talk about what this new funding means, how it will impact communities along the corridor, and what comes next in the long journey toward a fully twinned Highway 3.

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