Who's responsible for Horseshoe Creek? It depends who you ask

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeLocal News Who's responsible for Horseshoe Creek? It depends who you ask Mayor Andrew Knack says work was ready to start in 2024 but was halted on request from province, which in turn says its waiting on application from cities of Edmonton and St. Albert — but municipal officials say otherwise Author of the article: By Eric Bowling Published Sep 06, 2026 4 minute read Join the conversation The road is completely washed out of 137 Avenue at Horseshoe Creek, between 199 Street and Starling Drive on Monday, July 27, 2026 in North West Edmonton. PHOTO BY GREG SOUTHAM /Postmedia Article content Common sense would suggest if you need to replace a culvert under a bridge but you are also planning to redesign the connecting road, but the road itself will link to an expanded provincial park, the best use of taxpayer dollars is to do all the work at once instead of digging the area up two or three times. Article content But that logic backfired spectacularly in July at the Horseshoe Creek bridge, where heavy rains washed it out, leaving the neighbourhood with only one access road. It transformed a $2.7 million job into a much bigger one — though the final costs are still being determined. Both Epcor and the city insist Edmontonians won’t have to pay any additional taxes or rates to cover the cost. Article content Article content Article content Mayor Andrew Knack said the city, Epcor and Rohit, a major developer and builder in the city, have been ready to begin work on the 137 Avenue road crossing Horseshoe Creek since 2024, but the project was paused at the request of the province after a Jan. 24 Order in Council that year added 238 hectares to Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park (LHCPP). Article content Headline News Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Article content “As the communities of Big Lake were developing out, there was an understanding that the roadway infrastructure was not enough to support a full-buildout,” Knack said. “(Developers) had planned all the work and then a couple of weeks before they were going to start in spring of 2024, the provincial government came forward to say ‘Hold on, we’re doing some master planning for LHCPP. You can’t go forward until we’re…