If there’ s a silver lining to the reduced price of oil-and the accompanying job and production rollbacks-it might be lower traffic volumes along Highways 63 and 881.
If there’ s a silver lining to the reduced price of oil-and the accompanying job and production rollbacks-it might be lower traffic volumes along Highways 63 and 881.
“I would suspect that there’ s less traffic,” said Debbie Hammond, executive director of the Coalition for a Safer 63 and 881. “We know that many projects that weren’ t underway when oil started to plummet have been put on hold.”
In the months-long oil price slide, a number of extraction projects were postponed, leading to fewer employment prospects, gloomier production outlooks and fewer industrial vehicles on the roads. The price has since leveled out around the $60-per-barrel mark.
Even so, the oil and gas industry remains one of the strongest in northeastern Alberta, Hammond says, with Highways 63 and 881 channeling the lion’ s share of industrial traffic through the oilsands region.
Even as summer-the closest the industry comes to an off-season-arrives, the highways will still be hazardous, she says.
“We tend to let our guard down when summer rolls around,” said Hammond.
While drivers currently don’ t have Alberta’ s infamous winter conditions to contend with, the warmer months carry their share of risks.
“We will still see high numbers of wildlife, for example,” Hammond told the POST, adding that it won’ t just be industrial commuters on the notorious highways now. “Families are going to be out on their vacations, so there will be more recreation traffic, especially on 881.”
The reason Highway 881 will see more, she says, is because the highway passes near many prime outdoor recreation areas like Lakeland Provincial Park.
The Coalition for a Safer 63 and 881 is an advocacy group dedicated to raising awareness of the dangers the two highways pose. Lac La Biche County is one of the group’ s members.
Mayor Omer Moghrabi says the County won’ t change its stance on Highway 881, a long stretch of which lies within the municipality’ s boundaries, even as a new provincial government is formed in Edmonton.
“We’ re hoping that this government will be more receptive to our concerns,” Moghrabi said, adding that he and other County officials will probably “intensify” their lobbying efforts to make their points known early on.
In the past, local politicians and administrators have pushed for improvements to make Highway 881 safer, like passing lanes and rest areas. Continuing to ask for highway infrastructure upgrades is part of County Council’ s plan for the future, the mayor says.
“I’ m not backing down on any of that,” he said.
