At their meeting on May 2, the Town of Crossfield’s council voted in favour of moving forward with paying their portion of an illumination project that would increase visibility along a particularly dark stretch of Highway 574.
The Town began looking into the costs associated with adding streetlights along Highway 574 last year. At the time, Alberta Transportation informed the Town they would not be issuing any funding support to move ahead with the initiative.
Crossfield's local government took it upon themselves to look at the costs of illuminating that stretch of the highway. In December 2022, the Town held discussions with FortisAlberta, who provided a quote that construction, material, and engineering costs along with additional fees would amount to $136,816.
In March of this year, Mayor Kim Harris, along with staff members, met with the Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors Devin Dreeshen to discuss the matter further.
On April 24, the Town of Crossfield was pleased to hear Alberta Transportation would be providing $65,000 to help fund the project, leaving the Town a little over $71,000 short of the funds needed in full.
While council approved the expense on May 2, Harris told the Rocky View Weekly that details around the project in terms of when it will be completed will most likely remain unknown until after the provincial election on May 29.
“I think that it was just a conversation with Alberta Transportation just to see what kind of a partnership that could be,” Harris said. “So we won’t know the full details on Fortis and transportation pieces probably until after the election.”
Even though Crossfield is not yet aware of all the details associated with the illumination, Harris did confirm the Town is committed to fulfilling the project.
The mayor believes a set of streetlights would provide beneficial lighting along the path and road, noting how dark it can get within the area.
“The Town of Crossfield has made the decision to move forward with our portion of putting the lights up,” she said.
According to Harris, community members also support the project. She touted the importance of partnering with the province and other private businesses to help take the tax burden off residents.
“I don’t think that I have heard anything on the negative side,” she said. “But I think that any time Crossfield can make these improvements and get partnerships from the province or private entities, like Fortis, to make something happen and lessen the burden on our taxpayer is always a good thing.”
After discussions with the finance department, the additional funds will be provided in the Town's operational budget.
