The City of Edmonton identified the 184 Street and Yellowhead Trail Interchange as a high priority project. The signalized at-grade intersection had high volumes of traffic often resulted in numerous traffic accidents and some fatalities. In addition, the CN Rail at-grade crossing on 184 Street, just south of Yellowhead Trail, added congestion as trains pass every 20 minutes.
When the project was approved, there were insufficient funds to build an overpass across the CN tracks on 184 Street. However, CN was in the process of building a new intermodal facility just north of Yellowhead Trail. Local businesses and community members recognized that the new CN facility would greatly increase traffic on the already congested 184 Street and an at-grade track crossing would not be effective. Additional funds were raised and provided by CN Rail, local businesses, and the City. In the end, a separated crossing of 184 Street and the CN mainline was constructed.
The majority of the bridge construction was done over the CN Rail tracks. CN Rail required that there be no disruption to train schedules; therefore, cooperation between the City, CN Rail, and the contractor, was essential to the success of the project.