This newsletter is for people who live in the St. Julien Road construction zone and anyone who has registered to learn about the project and its impact on drivers, hikers, commuters and visitors. If you know someone who may be interested in this project, please encourage them to sign up at banff.ca/stjulienroad

St. Julien Road Reconstruction - August 13 Update

The Town provided special permission to start work at 8 a.m. today (Saturday, August 13), which is earlier than normally allowed. The work involves removing two stockpiles of materials onsite - one located near the Tunnel Mountain trailhead and one at the bottom of the hill in the Grizzly Street intersection. No work is scheduled for Sunday.

Last week:
All private properties on St. Julien Road were moved back to permanent water and sewer service last week and the temporary service lines were disconnected and removed. Construction focused on starting the road coring and base gravel construction, and crews started placement of boulders for the lower retaining walls.

Next week:
The construction work continues next week on the road coring and base gravel construction, rock placement and preliminary work on the electrical system for new street lights.

Vibrations for road base compaction will be disruptive. Residents are encouraged to move fragile items of value that are hanging on walls or could fall from shelves into safe storage for the period of road base construction. Starting at Wolf Street, the road base work will continue into September.

Dangerous construction site

St. Julien Road is closed to public access by vehicle, bicycle or by foot. St. Julien Road will be closed until October.

Only residents who live on St. Julien Street are permitted to enter the street, and only when safe to do so, in coordination with work crews.

People must not put themselves in danger by attempting to access St. Julien Road – please stay outside the construction area for your own safety, and please help direct visitors to safe detours on Tunnel Mountain.

Scheduled impact on residents for Aug. 13-21

About 12 homes on St. Julien Road will have full closures of driveway access for periods of some days in the week ahead. The yellow phases indicate intermittent closures that involve movement of heavy vehicles and machinery. The blended red/yellow phase designation means homes will have full closures for most of the day. Red phases in the matrix schedule below indicate full-day closures.

The parking zones for St. Julien residents outside the construction area will be open and accessible all week.

Only Wolverine Street and St. Julien Way access points for residents on St. Julien will have closures for some days this week.

View and download the UPDATED schedule matrix for impact on individual homes.

Schedule of Impact on Homes and Access - Aug 13-21

Click on schedule above to download PDF that is easier to read

If you live on St. Julien and have questions, please contact us:

email stjulienroad@banff.ca
phone 403.762.1296

Click on map to download a PDF that is easier to read

Avoid dangerous route to Tunnel Mountain Trail

The lower trailhead to the Tunnel Mountain Trail will remain closed for the next few weeks.

Access to the trail is now only possible via the upper trailhead on Tunnel Mountain Drive.

Hikers must not attempt to access the lower trailhead through St. Julien Road. This is a dangerous and often impassable construction site. Use maps to detour safely.

Signage is in place to direct hikers to detour to Wolverine Street and up the Ken Madsen Path, through the Banff Centre, and up St. Julien Way to Tunnel Mountain Drive and the upper trailhead. Large signs are placed at intersections, and "bread-crumb" lawn signs help hikers navigate the full route to Tunnel Mountain Drive. (See map below)

People must not try to use St. Julien Road to attempt to access the lower trailhead of the Tunnel Mountain Trail. The excavations and heavy equipment make it unsafe and often impassable. The construction site is too dangerous for pedestrians or hikers.

Banff Centre access

Pedestrian access to Banff Centre will be maintained on the Ken Madsen Path behind the cemetery, accessed from Wolverine Street or Buffalo Street. Vehicle access is limited to Buffalo Street and Tunnel Mountain Drive (see map 1 below).

Two detour options to Tunnel Mountain Trail

Hikers heading to the Tunnel Mountain Trail are now detoured away from St. Julien Road. The lower trailhead on St. Julien is completely inaccessible until mid-August.

Hikers are required to detour to the Ken Madsen Path and around the Banff Centre campus as the only route to the upper trailhead on Tunnel Mountain Drive. The parking lot on St. Julien is closed and there is limited parking at the Upper Trailhead. The best way to access the Tunnel Mountain Trail is by walking from downtown Banff.

Hiking to Tunnel Mountain Summit
- Faster Route via Banff Centre

Click to download PDF

Hiking to Tunnel Mountain Summit
- Scenic Route via Bow River & Surprise Corner

Map - route to summit via Buffalo Street