It’s a smoother ride around Drumheller as the town summer paving program will finish in about a week.
Roads from Riverside Drive east of 5 Street East to 9 Street East, 7 Avenue to 6 Avenue East, 2 Street SW from Highway 575 to 5 Avenue SW, and 2 Street SE from 10 Ave to Hunts Drive were repaved this summer as a part of the town’s annual street improvement program.
“It’s an ongoing process,” says infrastructure director Al Kendrick. “We evaluate different areas each year and prioritize as the need arises.”
He says the scale and scope of work varies each year depending on contractor prices and the road itself.
“It fluctuates how much concrete and asphalt we get done. Sometimes we’re limited on how far we go if we have to rebuild the base in some areas. The soil they used in the 80s is almost like jello when you take the granular material off. You get surprised every once in awhile when we open something up,” says Kendrick.
The portion of work done on Riverside Drive required workers to mill off a layer of asphalt for replacement, but ultimately the work done extended the life of the road for another 25 years.
“We try to stay on top of it,” Kendrick says.
Costs for the project this year benefitted with the cost of asphalt down due to the price of oil.
The town spends around $800,000 a year on major road repair work, with $200,000 to $300,000 budgeted for minor asphalt and concrete work.