Wayne Gretzky Drive

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For the road in north Edmonton, see 66 Street, Edmonton
Wayne Gretzky Drive
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Wayne Gretzky Drive is located in Edmonton
Wayne Gretzky Drive
Wayne Gretzky Drive
Wayne Gretzky Drive
Start/End points Wayne Gretzky Drive and 66/75 Street
Maintained by City of Edmonton
Location Edmonton, Alberta
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Wayne Gretzky Drive

Wayne Gretzky Drive
Former name(s) Capilano Drive, Capilano Freeway
Length 4.8 km[1] (3.0 mi)
South end 101 Avenue
Major
junctions		 106 Avenue, 112 Avenue, 118 Avenue
North end Fort Road / Yellowhead Trail
Construction
Inauguration 1969
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66 Street & 75 Street

Wayne Gretzky Drive
Length 16.2 km[1] (10.1 mi)
66 Street: 10.0 km (6.2 mi)
75 Street: 6.2 km (3.9 mi)
South end 41 Avenue SW
Major
junctions		 Ellerslie Road, 23 Avenue, 34 Avenue, Whitemud Drive, Roper Road, Argyll Road, Whyte (82) Avenue, 98 Avenue
North end 101 Avenue

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Wayne Gretzky Drive is a freeway in Edmonton, Alberta. Originally Capilano Drive/Capilano Freeway, it was officially renamed October 1, 1999, after NHL hockey player Wayne Gretzky, as a tribute to his years with the Edmonton Oilers. The same day, Wayne Gretzky's number 99 jersey was retired at the Skyreach Centre,[2] which lies just west of Wayne Gretzky Drive, at 118 Avenue. 66/75 Street is a major arterial road in east Edmonton which serves residential and industrial areas.

Wayne Gretzky Drive and 75 Street, both located between Whitemud Drive and Yellowhead Trail, are part of the eastern leg of what was planned to be Edmonton's Inner Ring Road. Wayne Gretzky Drive and 75 Street are part of a 39 km (24 mi) continuous roadway that runs from 41 Avenue SW to 33 Street NE (Edmonton's northeastern city limit) and includes portions of 66 Street and Fort Road, as well as all of Manning Drive.[1]

Overview

Wayne Gretzky Drive looking south from 106 Avenue.

Wayne Gretzky Drive

Preceded by 75 Street, Wayne Gretzky Drive starts at 101 Avenue to become a freeway. It crosses the North Saskatchewan River valley, by passing under 106 Avenue and Ada Boulevard. As it approaches Northlands and the Alberta Avenue area, it again returns into an arterial, with traffic lights. The exits to Northlands at 112 Avenue and 116 Avenue are clearly marked with overhead street signs in blue, and with the Northlands logo. Because of property constraints, to maintain the number of lanes, the freeway is divided into Wayne Gretzky Drive Northbound and Southbound, formally 72 Street and 73 Street,[3] at 118 Avenue. 119 Avenue services the north Northlands Coliseum parking lot to the west, and is a dead end to the east, because it was blocked off from being used as a shortcut, disrupting traffic flow during major Northlands events. The northbound and southbound then converge again before crossing the Capital Line of the Edmonton LRT. Fort Road, which runs to the southwest, meets up with Wayne Gretzky Drive at an at-grade intersection, then runs concurrently along with it for approximately 180 metres (590 ft) to Yellowhead Trail. The single-point urban interchange at Yellowhead Trail, allows Yellowhead Trail to run as a freeway, and has the benefit of only one traffic light, and U-turns for westbound and eastbound traffic. At this interchange, Wayne Gretzky Drive ends and Fort Road becomes the only road.

Because of their short lengths,[citation needed] Wayne Gretzky Drive and Groat Road are the only freeways in Edmonton not to have provincial highway numbers.

66/75 Street

66 Street and 75 Street functions as the southern extension of Wayne Gretzky Drive. It begins as 66 Street at 41 Avenue SW and passes north through Mill Woods, passing by Mill Woods Town Centre, Grey Nuns Community Hospital and Mill Woods Golf Course. At Whitemud Drive the roadway becomes 75 Street and passes through the Southeast Industrial area. North of Argyll Road, 75 Street transitions to passing through mature residential communities. Despite being designated as part of the inner ring road, heavy trucks are prohibited on 75 Street between 90 Avenue and 98 Avenue.[4] At 101 Avenue, 75 Street becomes Wayne Gretzky Drive.

66 Street and 75 Street is part of the southeast alignment of the Valley Line of the Edmonton LRT, which will link Mill Woods with downtown.[5] The LRT will run at-grade, parallel (on the east side) to the roadway between 28 Avenue and Wagner Road, with the exception of an elevated section near Wagner Road as the line will pass over 75 Street and transition to follow 83 Street towards downtown.[6] Stations and stops will be constructed along 66 Street and 75 Street with Grey Nuns stop near 31 Avenue, Millbourne/Woodvale stop near 38 Avenue, and Davies station near Wagner Road; Mill Woods station will east 66 Street along 28 Avenue.[5] As of February 2022, completion is expected for July 2022.[7][needs update]

Bridge structures

Capilano Bridge takes Wayne Gretzky Drive over the North Saskatchewan River, spanning 290 metres (950 ft).

Grant Moellmann Bridge takes Wayne Gretzky Drive over the LRT tracks and a CN spur that used to service the surrounding industrial area. It was opened in 1995 bridging the gap between 120 Avenue and Fort Road. It is named after Edmontonian ironworker Grant Moellmann (1935–1994) who fell to his death placing the bridge's last girder on November 24, 1994.[8][9] A plaque was placed on the bridge in September 1998 to mark the significance of this naming.

History

Capilano Freeway (Capilano Drive) originally opened in 1969 by widening and connecting the residential streets of 75 Street south of the river and 72 Street north of the river; it ended just north of 118 Avenue. In 1995, the northern extension of Capilano Drive was opened which completed the link to Fort Road and Yellowhead Trail.[9]

Proposals to honour Wayne Gretzky by renaming a city street date back to 1987, when it was originally proposed to rename 99 Street, coinciding with number 99; at the request of Gretzky, the plan was discontinued.[10] In 1989 the City of Edmonton, in co-ordination with Northlands and Molson Brewery, commissioned the artwork of the bronze statue which was unveiled on August 27, 1989, one year after he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, and moved to Rogers Place in 2016.[11][12][13] Following Gretzky's retirement in 1999, a fan brought forward a second proposal to rename 99 Street;[10] however Capilano Drive was ultimately chosen to be renamed Wayne Gretzky Drive.

Neighbourhoods

List of neighbourhoods Wayne Gretzky Drive runs through, in order from south to north:[14]

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Wayne Gretzky Drive

66 Street

75 Street

Major intersections

This is a list of major intersections, starting at the south end of 66 Street.[14] The entire route is in Edmonton.

km[1] mi Destinations Notes
0.0 0.0 41 Avenue SW At-grade
1.6 1.0 25 Avenue SW At-grade
3.2 2.0 Ellerslie Road At-grade (traffic lights)
4.4 2.7 Anthony Henday Drive (Hwy 216) Flyover, no access
5.7 3.5 Mill Woods Road South At-grade (traffic lights)
6.5 4.0 23 Avenue NW At-grade (traffic lights)
7.0 4.3 28 Avenue NW – Mill Woods Town Centre, Grey Nuns Hospital, Mill Woods station At-grade (traffic lights);
south end of LRT east of the roadway (under construction)
7.5 4.7 31 Avenue NW – Grey Nuns stop At-grade (traffic lights); stop under construction
7.8 4.8 34 Avenue NW At-grade (traffic lights)
8.8 5.5 38 Avenue NW – Millbourne/Woodvale stop At-grade (traffic lights); stop under construction
10.0 6.2 Whitemud Drive (Hwy 14) Diamond interchange (traffic lights)
North end of 66 Street • South end of 75 Street
10.9 6.8 Roper Road At-grade (traffic lights)
11.9 7.4 Wagner Road – Davies station At-grade (traffic lights);
north end of LRT east of the roadway (under construction)
12.6 7.8 Argyll Road (to Sherwood Park Freeway) At-grade (traffic lights)
13.0 8.1 76 Avenue At-grade (traffic lights)
13.6 8.5 Whyte (82) Avenue (to Sherwood Park Freeway) At-grade (traffic lights)
14.4 8.9 90 Avenue At-grade (traffic lights)
15.8 9.8 98 Avenue At-grade (traffic lights)
16.2
0.0		 10.1
0.0		 101 Avenue At-grade (traffic signals)
North end of 75 Street • South end of Wayne Gretzky Drive
1.0 0.6 106 Avenue Half diamond interchange; northbound exit, southbound entrance
1.6–
1.9		 1.0–
1.2		 Capilano Bridge crosses the North Saskatchewan River
2.7 1.7 112 Avenue – Northlands, Concordia University, Commonwealth Stadium Diamond interchange
3.4 2.1 116 Avenue – Northlands At-grade (traffic lights)
3.6 2.2 118 Avenue – Coliseum station Split intersection (traffic lights)
3.8 2.4 119 Avenue – Northlands Coliseum Split intersection (traffic lights)
3.9 2.4 120 Avenue / 121 Avenue Northbound right-in/right-out
4.2 2.6 Grant Moellmann Bridge crosses LRT & CN rail lines
4.6 2.9 Fort Road / 124 Avenue At-grade (traffic signals); south end of Fort Road concurrency
4.8 3.0 Yellowhead Trail (Hwy 16) Single-point urban interchange (traffic lights); exit 392 on Hwy 16;
south end of Fort Road concurrency
Continues as  Fort Road to Manning Drive (Hwy 15 north)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

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References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ City of Edmonton, Naming Edmonton: From Ada to Zoie, 2004. ISBN 0-88864-423-X
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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