The interchange design funding included in the 2018 Alberta Government budget puts the long-anticipated traffic reliever right on target, but scepticism has been expressed in the community.

Town Councillor Morgan Nagel ranted his disappointment at the last town council meeting that no money had been included for construction in the 2018 budget. The declared candidate for the UCP nomination for the new Cochrane-Airdrie riding recounted how council had popped the champagne when the interchange project was announced in April 2017 and suggested they approved further residential developments based on this commitment. What he failed to do was check the original timeline announced and, apparently, others have jumped aboard the bandwagon.

When the project was announced last April, the design was scheduled to be completed in 2019 with construction beginning as early as the fall of that year. A firm timeline was to be announced upon completion of the design.  Once shovel hits the ground, It is anticipated to take two years to construct.

Transportation ministry spokesman John Archer confirms the project is on schedule and is now entering the design phase with construction scheduled to start in the fall of 2019.

The interchange is expected to include twinning of Highway 1A under a twinned Highway 22 bridge; construction of a twinned Highway 22 bridge over the CPR mainline; ramps to access both Hwys. 1A and 22; and Hwy. 1A bridges over Big Hill Creek.

Banff-Cochrane MLA Cam Westhead explains capital funding won't be seen until the 2019 budget is tabled.

"We don't allocate capital funding to projects that aren't ready to be started and so that's why it's not in this year's budget," says Westhead.

Yet it's easy to understand the skepticism over the project proceeding. It has been discussed for 20 years now and was once included on the Progressive Conservative government's "sunshine list" in 2012, suspiciously near a provincial election, only to be dropped shortly afterwards.

Follow through on the project and lobbying for the completion of the twinning of Hwy 1A through Cochrane are both on the town council's list of strategic priorities and they will continue to consult with Alberta Transportation officials on the progress of the interchange project.

An eye on developing hi-tech industry

The 2018 budget puts a focus on the potential of expanding the hi-tech industry and Westhead says the province is playing catchup with other Canadian jurisdictions. That's good news for communities like Cochrane that are attempting to expand its economy with cutting-edge technology.

It's a two-pronged strategy. It aims to beef up post-secondary institutions by adding 3,000 post-secondary technology spaces over the next five years and new scholarships to support technology and other emerging sectors like life sciences, clean technology and health innovation. It looks at the other side of the equation by introducing an Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit that will provide a 25 per cent wage subsidy to companies hiring additional hi-tech employees.

"It aligns specifically with the direction that Cochrane is going, not only on supplying the talent but also on the demand side. We need something to hire those people once they graduate because we want to retain that talent in Alberta, so that goes towards a wage subsidy."

"We're actually a little bit behind the movement in the technology," says Westhead. "Other provinces, like B.C.and Ontario, have had this kind of wage subsidy for the digital industry in the past so moving towards that for Alberta removes the competitive disadvantage that we had. It gives technology firms a better incentive to come and set up shop in Alberta and keep our homegrown talent here instead of going to other jurisdictions."

Three-year funding approved for Ag Societies

Year-in, year-out Agricultural societies have never been assured funding from the province and as recent as last year the funding came close to the wire.

The 2018 budget establishes a three-year stable fund for ag societies, including the district agricultural societies in Cochrane and Cremona, of $11.5 million per year. It's the first time an Alberta government has provided such assurance to help ag society's properly plan and budget capital projects. Agricultural societies operate about 700 community facilities throughout Alberta and collectively involve more than 65,000 volunteers.