BONNYVILLE - ‘Significant safety concerns’ that aren’t being addressed will be the subject of a letter from MD of Bonnyville council to the provincial government.
After hearing from a local business, council passing a motion to send in their concerns regarding the Hwy. 55 improvement project to Alberta’s Minister of Transportation Ric McIver.
“It was a request from a local (business) who has concerns with the paving that’s going on along Hwy. 55 and its intersection with Rge Rd. 424,” explained CAO Luc Mercier during council’s Nov. 12 regular meeting. “What they’re feeling is this approach needs to be widened to incorporate the traffic that’s there.”
Doug Coosemans, president of Superior Industries, penned a letter to the municipality outlining his concerns after learning the intersection wouldn’t be widened as part of the Hwy. 55 improvements.
“My understanding is that this is based on a recent traffic study,” he wrote. “Due to the current slump in the economy and oil prices, traffic has decreased considerably with less industrial activity. For example, we went from three concrete suppliers located on Rge Rd. 424 to one in a couple of years.”
Coosemans stressed that ‘this will eventually come back around and this will create a bulk of the traffic.’
Safety was another issue Coosemans raised in his letter.
“Another consideration is the type of vehicles, of which 95 per cent are large and slow-moving trucks. This particular intersection has been dangerous for years and, therefore, should be considered to be widened for turning lanes.”
Coun. Ben Fadeyiw agreed the area should be considered for improvements.
“We’re getting into our busy season with the base being expanded and with oil, everything’s going to go up. There’s no shoulders at all and now they’re doing expansions and they need to be considering that right now,” he exclaimed.
After learning work was being done on the stretch of Hwy. 55, Fadeyiw noted he was shocked when that intersection wasn’t included.
“Now’s the time to be doing it, not later on,” he said.
Fadeyiw added, “I see work being done on one intersection and not the other and just like them I was assuming because it’s an industrial site that they would do that but they’re not.”
A letter to McIver will include the concerns raised by Coosemans and council.
