A third open house to discuss future upgrades of Highway 22 between Highway 8 and the Cochrane south boundary, including the interchange on Highway 1, was held at the Springbank Heritage Club, Jan. 31.
“There has been significant growth on Highway 22,” explained Chris Delanoy, with ISL Engineering, the group hired to conduct the study and gather feedback from the public for Alberta Transportation (AT).
“The need to twin will be required,” he added.
Currently 18,000 vehicles travel the 14 kilometre stretch of road everyday. That number is expected to reach 32,000 in 20 years, and 45,000 in 40 years.
Delanoy said this is the first time AT has looked at how this highway will be twinned.
Recommendations presented to the public last week include diverting Highway 22 around Callaway homestead near Township Road 252, twinning Highway 22 to the east and south of Township Road 243 and modifying Highway 1 using a three per cent grade to allow trucks to climb more easily.
In addition, the suggestion was made to modify local access on the east side of Township Road 253 to a front service road configuration and current local access off Township Road 250, east of Highway 22 is suggested to be removed and replaced with an existing access road at Range Road 41, further east.
Currently, upgrades are not identified as part of the Province’s three-year plan and Delanoy noted these upgrades will likely occur 10 or more years in the future.
“One of the reasons we do this study ahead of time is so we can identify land that will be needed and if it’s private land, will it be impacted?” asked Delanoy.
Peter Hughes, who lives in the area, said the way the recommendations are now, it will drastically affect his in-law’s agricultural livelihood where his wife is a fourth generation land-owner.
He said they own six quarter sections of land and the changes would affect how they get water.
“There is a specific spot that would affect and remove our access from natural wetland and affect a well which waters a house and cattle,” he said.
He said he realizes there needs to be improvements to the roads but said “it’s time the Province comes to the point where it values agricultural land and does a better job efficiently using land to increase the size of highways,” he said.
He questioned whether the amount of space used to create right of ways is necessary.
He has been in previous meetings, and said it has been a slow process but hopes discussions can continue until a solution is found.
However, another area-resident, Sandy MacDonell, said she would like to see work “stepped up.”
“It seems like a necessary provision now because of the increased traffic,” she said, adding the vehicle traffic is already at a point where the road should be twinned.
“The risk of an accident is getting worse and worse and even though it is well patrolled, it has become a safety issue because it is not twinned.”
Delanoy said feedback from last week’s open house will be used to determine whether more changes need to be made.
Once that is concluded, the study will be brought to Alberta Transportation for recommendations for the next step.
“I think we have established a good relationship with landowners,” he said. “I hope to have a plan that works as good as possible.”
