Barring substantial changes coming from the provincial budget, Drumheller should see vast improvement to the highways throughout the valley.
The Town of Drumheller has received confirmation that this year the valley will see the resurfacing of Highway 10 from the intersection at Highway 9 to East Coulee. They are also looking at improving a few of the intersection and addressing the potholes around town.
“Of course this comes with a caveat,” said Mayor Terry Yemen.
According to a Town of Drumheller memorandum, this is “subject to budget availability after March 7.”
The contract to repair the 23-kilometre stretch has been awarded to Border Paving and gravel is being stockpiled. It is a 50-millimetre overlay and will include milling at the intersection of Highway 9 and 10, an area riddled with potholes. Milling will also take place in urban areas to maintain curb and gutter grades.
This work is slated to begin in May of this year. Costs for the project was not included in the memorandum.
Mayor Yemen says Alberta Transportation has been responsive to the town and residents who have been vocal about potholes in major traffic areas.
With that in mind, they are planning to do a mill and repave not only at the intersection of Highway 9 and 10, but also at South Railway Avenue and Second Street near Winks. They have also confirmed they will be completing some work at the intersection of 3rd Avenue downtown and 2nd Street to remove ruts left by heavy vehicles at the busy intersection.
In the meantime, contractors continue to try and patch the many potholes along highways within town limits. Carillion, the maintenance contractor, is using a new pothole patching material that appears to be more effectively bonding to existing pavement compounds.
“This is a good news story. This is an issue, council has followed through with it and the Alberta Government responded,” said Yemen.