Partially built Sunnyside flood barrier expected to be completed by spring 2026

Andrew Jeffrey · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 05, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

A expanse metallic partition moving on Memorial Drive successful cardinal Calgary has already drawn questions from residents successful the area.

Will it permanently artifact their presumption of the river? Is it immoderate benignant of nationalist creation project?

In some cases, the reply is no. The astir 2.4-kilometre partition is portion of the city's flood-mitigation effort, and is designed to support rising h2o of the Bow River safely distant from buildings successful the Hillhurst and Sunnyside neighbourhoods.

Construction began connected the task past year, arsenic a effect to flooding that deed the country successful June 2013. Project manager Amy Stansky said a low-lying neighbourhood like Sunnyside tin flood erstwhile the Bow River's travel complaint is arsenic debased arsenic 600 cubic metres per second. During the 2013 flood, the stream was flowing astatine a complaint astir 3 times arsenic fast.

"A batch of the country that is adjacent to the stream valleys tin beryllium much susceptible to overland flooding and groundwater seepage, and Sunnyside is 1 of those spots," said Stansky.

"We truly privation to support Sunnyside from what we saw happening successful 2013."

In immoderate areas wherever the metallic could impede groundwater excessively heavily, the metropolis is utilizing factual instead, which takes up much abstraction during construction, but volition beryllium likewise constrictive arsenic the remainder of the obstruction erstwhile it's built.

Stansky said the barrier, which was estimated by the metropolis to outgo $50 cardinal past year, was chosen partially due to the fact that its narrow size is little disruptive than different flood-mitigation options similar an world berm. While astir 200 trees were chopped down for the Sunnyside barrier, a berm would person required losing betwixt 700 and 900 trees, Stansky said.

"We were capable to prevention a batch of these large mature trees and sphere the park-like consciousness of this area," Stansky said.

Work is inactive needed to thrust the partition adjacent further into the ground, which volition effect successful a last merchandise that doesn't impede residents' views of the stream arsenic much. When it's completed, the wall's mean tallness is planned to beryllium 1.2 metres, reaching up to 3 metres astatine its tallest by the Prince's Island pedestrian bridge.

During the barrier's construction, the metropolis is besides improving seating areas, widening the pathway for cyclists and pedestrians, and turning the obstruction into seat seating successful immoderate areas, Stansky said.

The task is expected to beryllium completed adjacent year, with a functional flood obstruction successful spot by the spring.