Road work continues
Motorists in Drayton Valley will have to put up with traffic disruptions for a few more weeks.
Town administration says the construction on 50 Avenue is still on schedule to finish up by October 31.
Shelley Terry, the acting General Manager of Municipal Services for the Town, says aside from a few instances of vandalism, things have been going well for the project.
“We had some signs stolen at one point, and some of our delineators were thrown into the excavated side when we still had the road open to the public,” she says.
Terry says the delineators were in place for the public so they could see where the excavation started. It was a safety measure put in place to allow the road to remain open for some use. However, Terry says they closed the road at that point because they didn’t want any incidents if the delineators were moved again.
There was also one incident of a vehicle having driven into the excavated area. “After talking to the RCMP, it had nothing to do with the safety measures that were in place. It was a completely separate operator issue,” says Terry.
She says there was luckily no damage from the incident as they hadn’t started the subgrade construction on the road.
She says the sidewalks are still intact, but they would like people to find an alternate route. “It is a construction area, so we don’t want to encourage (foot traffic),” says Terry.
As for the residents on the street, Terry says they haven’t had any complaints regarding the road closure. She says they all have access they can use in the alleys behind their homes, and it seems to be working well for them.
Terry says there also haven’t been any complaints from anyone who would normally use the road as a school route. “I think everybody is generally just working with us,” says Terry. “They’re probably just happy to see the road improvement.”
There is also underground infrastructure work taking place further east on 50 Avenue. Terry says that the work is for a sewer line crossing and a stormwater extension. She says it is best for drivers to avoid using 50 Avenue if possible.
Amanda Jeffery, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Drayton Valley and District Free Press
