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Highway 2 upgrade comes with conditions
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The maps show 13 of the 14 places in High Prairie where Alberta Transportation want changes to selected entrances while repaving this summer. The other location is an undeveloped property located across from the roadway separating Big Lakes Dodge and Deerline Sales in the town’s east end.
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Mac Olsen
for South Peace News
The work to repave Highway 2 through High Prairie is supposed to take place in the summer, but Alberta Transportation wants changes made to 14 driveway entrances and access points along the route as well.
“As part of this summer’s paving project, Alberta Transportation will require (the completion) of curb and gutter work in various locations,” says CAO Larry Baran in a memorandum to High Prairie town council. “At that time, Alberta Transportation wants to correct these property and road accesses of concern.”
Mayor Rick Dumont has no concerns about the proposed changes and wants the repaving work to proceed.
“I’d like to see administration do as little as possible, it’s their highway,” says Dumont. “We’ve got to get that overlay this year.”
Baran says he contacted all the affected parties by letter last week and volunteered to represent them in all dealings.
“I think, from Alberta Transportation’s perspective, they’d like to have someone locally dealing with the owners, as opposed to having the owners dealing with an entity from out of town,” he says, adding council does not have any legal interest in the affected properties.
Work started at the west side of town in the fall of 2008, creating wider turnoffs on both sides of Range Road 172, near the M.D. of Big Lakes office. The work was tendered separately from the tender for the road repaving, but both tenders have been combined into one.
Ruel Brothers Contracting Ltd. has been awarded the $4.7 million contract. It is not known when they will begin their work, but they must be finished by the end of August, says Heather Kaszula, a spokesperson for Alberta Transportation in Edmonton.
Alberta Transportation wants to make 14 changes along main street. They are identified on the accompanying map:
1. Property access from the south side of Highway 2 to undeveloped property located across from the roadway separating Big Lakes Dodge and Deerline Sales. Baran says there is no reason why the access exists and he supports its closure. (Not shown in the map.)
2. Highway access direct to A&W Restaurant is “troublesome,” as it is located within a few hundred metres of a legal street address at 42nd Street and 53rd Avenue. He says Alberta Transportation considers it a duplication of access and wants it closed.
3. Southern access to Highway 2 from 42nd Street, across from the UFA gas bar, is a concern. Baran is concerned about the steep incline from the services road (Wilson Street) onto Highway 2 at the 42nd Street access and he suggests a study has to be done before any decision made.
4. The intersection at the former FasGas site (Wilson Street, 44th Street and Highway 2) is a concern, as Alberta Transportation wants to widen the highway there and create a larger sweep for truck access and egress from the service road onto the highway.
5. Consolidate two accesses at the hospital into one larger access.
6. Consolidate two accesses at H&R Block into one.
7. Consolidate multiple accesses at the Mac’s store into one.
8. Close Highway 2 access into the former Esso property across from the Town office.
9. At Walleyes and Whitetails, close the “unsafe” access closest to the intersection, close the second property access adjacent to the alley and expand alley access to provide access to the alley and the property.
10. At Shell, close the “unsafe” access closest to the intersection, close the second property access adjacent to the alley and expand the alley access to provide access to the alley and the property.
11. At the Super A grocery store, close the two Super A accesses and combine them into one larger access and create more of a separation between the store and the Whitefish property accesses.
12. At the Raven Motor Inn, consolidate the three accesses into one large access.
13. Consolidate the three separate accesses for the Lutheran Church and the liquor store into two, one on the east end of the mall and one which would straddle the property line to serve both properties.
14. At the former dairy building, close the access immediately adjacent to the bridge and enhance the design of the remaining access.
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