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'Good news' on Plamondon main street repaving

PLAMONDON - Lac La Biche County council and administration are sensing some forward movement on stalled plans to complete the downtown paving project that has left portions of the hamlet of Plamondon looking like a battle zone.

Midway through a planned project that would have seen a 3.8 kilometre stretch of Highway 858 — the provincial highway that runs through the community — paved, provincial planners halted the job. The current 2020 Provincial Construction Program issued by Alberta Transportation no longer includes work on Highway 858. The report's cover page does state, "Projects may move on or off the Construction Program based on emerging needs, changing construction schedules, or available funding."

With funding in limbo and no immediate answers coming, the construction project has remained unfinished for a full year.

In recent discussions with Alberta Transportation officials, however, Lac La Biche County's administrative boss sees a light at the end of the tunnel — but cautions that there is still nothing concrete. The fact that there was a meeting about the project, he said, is promising.

"It's some good news I can give on the Plamondon main street paving," said the municipality's interim CAO Ken Van Buul, hinting that by the end of June there could be more progress on the project. While there were no definite plans presented at the meeting, Van Buul said a compromise on the size of the project may help to deal with the worst part of the current road surface. "We are trying to make the 800 metre portion possible. We told them that our main priority is that 800 metres through (Plamondon's) main street."

The estimated costs for the paving and some remaining curb work on the 800 metre stretch is around $450,000. Public Works department officials with Lac La Biche County say the window to have the project completed this construction season starts to close by the end of August.

Plamondon-area councillor Colette Borgun initiated an Notice of Motion — a formal notice about a certain topic — at the Lac La Biche County council table late last month to force the issue and draw attention to the unfinished roadway. 

Borgun is pleased with the positive news on the project. She has spent months dealing with phone calls and conversations from constituents about the 'half-done' roadways in the Plamondon hamlet. She is also pleased that area MLA Laila Goodridge has now pledged her support to get the project completed. After weeks of being told that the provincial MLAs couldn't get caught up in these kinds of debates because it was considered "political interference", Borgun said Goodridge recently toured the area during the flooding and said she would offer her support.

 

plamondon back alley wet 2020plamondon back alley wet 2020The back alley on the east side of Plamondon's main street has been a long-standing concern when it comes to water.

 

In recent weeks, several infrastructure concerns in the Plamondon hamlet have been brought up for discussion, including the need to fix curbs and surface paving on 101 Ave that leads from Highway 858 toward the Festival Centre. Back alley with flooding issue have also been discussed by council and administration. 

Prior to the State of Local Emergency issued by municipal officials in the first week of June to deal with overland flooding from heavy rains, flooding from spring run-off was the main culprit for much of the flooding discussions by council.


Rob McKinley

About the Author: Rob McKinley

Rob has been in the media, marketing and promotion business for 30 years, working in the public sector, as well as media outlets in major metropolitan markets, smaller rural communities and Indigenous-focused settings.
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