Construction will hit downtown Banff soon and here's what to expect
If you are visiting Banff soon, be prepared for some construction in its downtown core as the town replaces some of its water, sewer, and storm drainage systems.
The reconstruction of Caribou Street, between Lynx Street and Banff Avenue, is scheduled to start on Sept. 2, with work replacing the drainage systems under the road, which are almost 100 years old and are at the end of their life expectancy.
The main lines and all connections to properties need to be replaced due to the risk of failure. Periodic repairs and lining of pipes will no longer maintain these essential services.
The town says the work to replace the utilities will involve deep excavation, closing the road to vehicles throughout the construction phases, and reducing access to businesses due to moving sidewalk routes. In some phases, businesses on Caribou Street will be required to close for one or more days when water or sewer service is disrupted and in phases when excavation or construction removes access from customer front doors.
Town of Banff
The project will replace the water main connection under the intersection of Caribou Street and Lynx Street. The road surface reconstruction will also realign the intersection, shortening the crossing distance for pedestrians and improving their visibility.
Construction at the intersection of Caribou and Lynx Street will require temporary road closures and detours.
Bear Street will also be seeing an extension, with the surface design resembling Bear Street’s pedestrian-priority aesthetics with paving stones, from Bear Street to Banff Avenue, while the west portion connecting with Lynx Street will resemble Banff Avenue’s refreshing style with curbs and gutters and an asphalt road surface. A benefit of realigning the intersection includes the creation of a parkette.
The project will not install soil cells under the planters, as was done on Bear Street, to reduce construction duration. The storm drainage will tie into existing storm lines, which did not exist on Bear Street, eliminating the need for a trench drain down Caribou Street.
The construction timeline of this project in the heart of Banff is outlined as follows;
- Start excavation immediately after Labour Day weekend 2025 on the east section, starting at Banff Avenue
- Pause for winter, with a temporary asphalt layer over the affected area
- Restart in spring 2026 with the goal to complete development by July to reduce business disruption in peak summer visitation
This project is budgeted to cost about $3.8 million in 2025 and $3 million in 2026. More information can be found on the Town of Banff website.