A government report says that Lac La Biche County could be a major transportation hub in the future with high-speed rail transit or a rapid bus line, due to the projected growth in oil sands production.
The Government of Alberta released a report called the Comprehensive Regional Infrastructure Sustainability Plan (CRISP), a long-term planning document that projects the next three decades in the Athabasca Oil Sands Area (AOSA) – a region with Lac La Biche County on the southern tip and stretching north to include Conklin, Wabasca, and Ft. McMurray.
The report projects that oil sands production will increase to 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2014 – a 77 per cent increase from 2008 levels. By 2045, that number is expected to hit 6 million bpd. And with that production increase comes the need for more workers – and with the workers, increased population and infrastructure pressures for communities in the AOSA, including Lac La Biche County.
Bob Bezpalko, regional economic development manager with Alberta HUB – an organization of 29 communities in northeast Alberta – presented parts of the report to Lac La Biche County Council at a recent meeting. He detailed how the community is poised to reap the benefits of the booming oil sands up north.
“It’s going to mean more business, a high growth rate, and more population,” Bezpalko told the Post. “Lac La Biche is being viewed as a potential transportation hub: in order to get to the SAGD operations near Conklin, you need to travel up Highway 881 by Lac La Biche. The community is looked at as the starting point – a major cog in the wheel.”
The CRISP report projects that the expanding oil and gas developments near Conklin could create a work-camp community of 15,000 people. Due to some concerns over such a huge population spike in Conklin, Lac La Biche is looked at as a place to service the SAGD projects – which could mean Lac La Biche could increase to 20,000 people.
However, due to the commuting times, a more likely scenario is that Lac La Biche would be a launching point for workers travelling to sites up north in Conklin then Fort McMurray. The CRISP report states that introducing a high speed rail line between Lac La Biche and northern Fort McMurray would cut travel times by 11 per cent and greenhouse gas emissions by five to 10 per cent – and would cost $1.3 billion.
Because of that high price, the report states that it’s more likely that Highway 881 heading north from Lac La Biche could be modified to accommodate faster bus service: like building dedicated bus corridors or bus bypass shoulders that would allow busses to travel around traffic during busy times.
Bezpalko said the opportunities aren’t just in transportation. Lac La Biche would boom, thanks to more jobs servicing the oil and gas industry, as well as the reciprocal benefits of more people in the community like busier restaurants and local businesses. He added that the community is doing a lot of things that are setting them up for success in the future.
“I know that the county and the local chamber of commerce are working towards enhancing the community’s image,” Bezpalko said.
“That’s going to be a building block, a structure for further growth. I haven’t been working long in Lac La Biche, but I can say the community is doing great work as far as looking at structured, progressive-thinking growth.”
The government is planning on doing two more CRISP reports for the Peace River and Cold Lake oil sands regions – northwest and east of Lac La Biche County, respectively – to further plan infrastructure for the rapidly expanding oil sands development in the province. Those reports are expected to be completed within the next couple of months.
