Rocky View County (RVC) council voted to direct administration to proceed with construction of the west mile of CrossIron Drive this year.
According to the agenda package for the regular council meeting March 9, on the west mile, road acquisition agreements were registered on title of two parcels bordering the south of the project at the time of a previous subdivision. The agreements allow the County to purchase approximately 1.95 acres of land for road-widening from the parcels for one dollar each.
“Therefore, acquiring these lands presents a low risk to the project schedule and can be done within the project budget,” the agenda package stated.
Eric Schuh, with RVC’s capital project management department, said the $2.25-million project was approved by council on Sept. 1, 2020. He added $734,000 of the project will be funded through Alberta’s Municipal Stimulus program (MSP), and the remainder will be covered by the County’s Transportation Offsite Levy.
“Based on the design work to date, administration is recommending that the project scope for 2021 be adjusted to encompass twinning the west section of the project from Dwight McLellan Trail to Range Road 292,” he said. “This work would include the associated intersection upgrades and stormwater infrastructure to support this section of twinning.”
Currently, CrossIron Drive is twinned for four lanes from Highway 2 to Dwight McLellan Trail and two lanes from Dwight McLellan Trail to Range Road 291. Traffic counts completed in the summer of 2020 indicated the west mile of the upgrade project from Dwight McLellan Trail to Range Road 292 supported nearly 7,500 vehicles per day, while the east mile from Range Road 292 to Range Road 291 supported approximately 3,500.
According to the agenda package, council was initially presented with a project to widen and overlay the section of CrossIron Drive between Dwight McLellan Trail and Range Road 291, but after further investigation of the upgrade requirements, RVC determined twinning of the roadway brings “a much greater benefit to the area and aligns with the County’s Long Range Transportation Plan.”
Council unanimously approved the item.
ICIP Funding
A number of facility infrastructure projects were given the go-ahead by council on March 9, resulting in a more than $200,000 budget adjustment.
According to Sheldon Racz with RVC’s operational services department, the budgetary adjustment will be covered by the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) funding through the COVID-19 resiliency stream.
“On Feb. 8, we received notification that the federal government has approved the three projects that were put forward under council’s direction,” Racz told council.
According to Racz, the improvements include an HVAC upgrade to County Hall and council chambers, front reception upgrades and LED upgrades and retrofits for County buildings.
Coun. Kevin Hanson moved to approve the item, which was supported unanimously.
Jordan Stricker, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @Jay_Strickz
