As Mayor Jeff Genung read the letter aloud, he verbally checked off the commitments made by Alberta Transportation minister Ric McIver to improve Cochrane's transportation woes.

The town has received written confirmation of the extension of the Hwy. 1A-22 interchange project to include the southbound dual turning lane from Sunset Boulevard. That will open the door to the development of a second exit from the heavily-populated neighbourhood.

The town will be responsible for the funding for the expansion of the interchange project, however, it will be completed at the same time as the rest of the project and in the end, at a cost savings to the town.

"They'll just care of all of it," says Genung. "They'll carve off the cost of that and the town will pay just that, which will be huge savings."

The government also agreed with the town's proposed improvements to the Hwy. 1A-Centre Avenue intersection.

Cochrane will also cost-share the Hwy. 1A-Centre Ave. project.

"We needed the province to be on board with that to move forward with the four-laning and everything we've been talking about," he says.

"For them to give us the thumbs up on that was another big win."

Mayor Genung believes the town's approach to both of these projects helped fast-track the projects.

"We had meetings with Alberta Transportation well in advance of the budget. We shared with them that we're willing to be innovative with the solutions, as long as we could get them done sooner rather than later."

"Everything we'd asked for was basically in one letter, which is rare," says Genung.

The letter also referenced the improvements to Hwy. 1A through the Stoney Nakoda Nation.

"It's an exciting letter to receive, and I'm looking forward to getting all those shovels in the ground."