With summer approaching, Rocky View County (RVC) is preparing for another season of road construction that may impact county drivers. Byron Riemann, RVC’s general manager of Infrastructure and Operations, said three main projects have been approved within the county for 2018, in the Langdon, Springbank and Balzac areas. According to Riemann, the Centre Street road project will bring a main Langdon road to a new and complete standard through paving, drainage and the addition of sidewalks. “That’s looking at the main corridor in Langdon…and looking at upgrading that road from a rural cross-section into more of an urban cross-section,” he said. In the Springbank area, crews will work to widen Township Road 250. “That’s looking to advance that road into a wider state where we can start looking at better pedestrian accommodation and continuing the ultimate classification of that road, which is really to be a four-lane, major roadway,” Riemann said. Meanwhile, near Balzac, a subgrade project will be undertaken along Range Road 290 from Highway 566 up to Township Road 270. “That’s now just transitioning an old gravel road into more of a suitable gravel road that will ultimately be paved,” he said. According to Riemann, the County is transitioning the section of Range Road 290 from gravel to pavement because it fulfills north-south corridor movement between the county and Calgary. The three projects will be undertaken simultaneously, and Riemann anticipates construction will begin in the latter part of July. RVC aims to complete road projects before the end of October, he added. “If everything goes as planned, we hope to finish them all this year,” Riemann said. “We’ve seen a few hiccoughs in the past with some road projects we’ve had to carry over.” In addition to the three main road construction projects, Riemann said smaller projects will also be undertaken this summer. “We do have a series of bridge replacement programs that are being completed in 2018,” Riemann said. “Those are a bit more low-key, because they’re on some lower volume roads, but, nevertheless, there will be some impacts to drivers when they are coming up to these construction sites.” According to Riemann, the three main road projects will cost approximately $7 million, with an additional $5 million budgeted for the bridgework. County drivers might also be impacted by road projects in neighbouring municipalities, as well as some within RVC not under the control of the County. “Alberta Transportation is doing quite a few maintenance programs in and around RVC,” Riemann said. “We try to make sure we make everyone in RVC is aware of potential impacts (and) of delays.” Riemann said residents will be notified about road closures that may affect them through a Safe & Sound message. Up-to-date information will also be available at rockyview.ca/roads As is the case with roadwork, Riemann said there is always the potential construction will lead to closures. According to Riemann, county roads are usually only closed one lane at a time, and contractors will set up appropriate detours to guide drivers around the construction. Still, he added RVC appreciates these closures and detours can be a nuisance for motorists in the area. “We hope we can ask for (driver) patience,” Riemann said. “We’re doing what we can to make sure we’re getting drivers through the construction site at the best possible speed and rate we can.”
