As the snow recedes, and the roads become driveable, it can only mean construction season is back again. Last week the Province of Alberta rolled out its road construction itinerary for the season. In the Drumheller area, residents will see a little more of what they saw last year, as Highway 9 construction continues.
“This project was planned for two years because of the size of the project,” said Trent Bancarz, spokesperson for Alberta Transportation. “Part of what makes that project longer is it is not only widening the highway, it is being completely reconstructed in some places. On some sections of it, we’re starting from scratch.”
He explains that on an extensive project such as Highway 9, once the base and side sloping is in place, often the work has to settle before they continue with the project.
The stretch of Highway 9 that is being reconstructed includes the intersection at Highway 21. Extensive work has been completed to improve sight lines for drivers as they approach the intersection.
“A lot of the work we have done on Highway 9 over the last few years is taking a very old highway and bringing it up to a modern standard,” said Bancarz. “There has been a lot of advances in recent years; a lot of engineering advances, advances in materials, techniques.”
The 15-kilometre stretch of Highway 9 has a price tag of about $20.4 million and is slated to be complete this fall.
This year the Alberta government is set to spend $1.7 billion on the provincial highway network.
“This is about making the right investments at the right time,” said Luke Ouellette, Minister of Transportation. “We will continue to build and take advantage of lower overall construction costs because when we keep building, we keep Albertans working, support our communities and lay the foundation for future economic growth.”
This season a repaving project on Highway 56 between Hussar and the Trans Canada Highway is set to go. Bancarz said while they have not accepted any tenders the project to resurface the 22-kilometre stretch, he estimates the value of about $5 million.