Lots of construction is taking place this year within the Valley, and it has created an economic boom.
Telus, Atco Electric, AltaGas and Knibb Developments Ltd. are all doing work within the Valley and are helping to boost the economy in Drumheller and area.
Telus has begun installing Fibre Optic Internet to residences and businesses. Seven and a half million dollars has been invested by Telus to complete this installation and Communications manager and spokesperson for Telus, Liz Sauve, said it will have great benefits, especially in the tourism industry.
“Having fibre (optic connections) directly to your home or your business enables the fastest Internet speeds that Telus offers, which right now is up to 100 mbps. With the fibre build, it means in the future, as technology advances and the different pieces of hardware that we use advance, we can upgrade that network at lightning speed.”
She said it is “really exciting” because Drumheller will have the fastest Internet available.
Sauve said there are over 35 people working on the installation who are staying right in Drumheller. She mentioned these crew members are living in hotels or rental accommodations and eating within Drumheller during the length of the installation, which will hopefully be completed by Fall.
“The economic boost for the community, during the build with everyone in town to complete it, it really is just great for the community,” Sauve told The Mail.
Atco Electric is expanding in the Valley also. They are renovating and expanding their current warehouse as part of a long term plan to house all the distribution operations currently located throughout Drumheller under one roof, Aaron Finkbiner, an area supervisor for Atco Electric said.
“We are working with a contractor on the construction of the warehouse and the expansion. At each phase of the construction project there are anywhere between two and 30 contractors on site.”
Finkbiner explained that some of these contractors are staying in the community and some are commuting home. He said the project is on track and they hope to be completed by the end of 2015.
AltaGas and Knibb Developments Ltd. are doing some much needed upgrades within the Valley as well.
AltaGas is replacing steel pipes within the area that are over 50 years old, President of AltaGas Utilities, Greg Johnston said.
“As a utility we have to be proactive to maintain a safe, reliable system. The steel pipe that was installed before 1957 is to the point where we need to replace it before it gets to its end of life."
He said the work is being completed throughout the province, but began in Drumheller in early May and is expected to be completed by the end of July.
The contractors completing the work are experts, he said, who travel throughout the province, but they will often hire local forces, including laborers, truck drivers and purchasing materials locally. He said there is about a 15-man crew that is staying in local hotels and campgrounds that will be within the Valley at least 12 weeks.
Johnston said, AltaGas works in coordination with local engineers to find out when paving would be done in the area to make sure their work is completed before hand.
Knibb Developments Ltd., is working to complete the 2015 Town’s Watermain Replacement Program. They are taking out the existing cast iron water lines and are replacing them with high-density polyethylene pipe (HDPE). This is being completed, Jason Knibb, of Knibb Developments Ltd. said, by pipe bursting which allows the HDPE pipe to be, “inserted into the existing line, preceded by a cutting/expansion head.”
This method, Knibb said, is trenchless and enables them to minimize the disruption compared to traditional open trench methods.
The six to 10 employees assigned to the Drumheller project, Knibb said, are either within a 20-30 minute commute, or live right in the town.
Mayor Terry Yemen said it is “incredible” to see what is happening in Drumheller right now, despite Alberta being in a recession and praises the companies.
“I’ll challenge anybody to find any other small town that has as much going for it this year as Drumheller, Alberta.”
He continued by saying, that Atco Electric choosing to build the warehouse wasn’t a mistake. “They are building that because they want to be in Drumheller.”
Yemen said, Telus looked around for a community that was going places and chose to invest in Drumheller and that completing the cast-iron replacement is a good thing.
“AltaGas is doing a whole bunch of infrastructure changes downtown. I know it is a little of a headache, but suck it up,” he said. “It is all for the betterment of the community. This is a banner year for Drumheller.”
