Replacing the Athabasca Bridge could start as soon as 2019-2020, as long as provincial finances follow through, said Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater MLA Colin Piquette.
The bridge replacement on Highway 813 is currently on the provincial government’s Budget 2016 unfunded capital projects list, which Piquette said is one step before getting on the province’s capital plan.
“As far as where the bridge is at, it’s going according to plan,” he said. “The right of way, the preliminary studies have taken place and they’re looking for more details, results and reports – and that’s coming up to tender right away.”
Although there has been progress, Piquette said he could not promise that the project would be in the provincial budget three years from now.
“What I can promise is that I’m strongly advocating for it to be there,” he said. “It will be vetted and ready to go by then. From my understanding, it should be shovel ready. So it’ll be approved in principle, all the details, planning work, right of way, all these elements should be in place at that time.”
Piquette said further developments and announcements will be coming in the new year.
“I know people wanted to get this thing right away, but I still think it’s positive,” he said. “We can definitely see light at the end of the tunnel.”
Piquette said the details have not been drawn out yet as to what will happen to the old bridge and whether it will be converted into a walking bridge.
Athabasca County Reeve Doris Splane said it was requested by the town and county to put a walking portion on the new bridge.
Town of Athabasca Mayor Roger Morrill said the bridge was significant to the community and while he was pleased with Piquette’s announcement, the bridge is something local councils should continue to focus on and facilitate.
“I still think it’s up to the municipal leaders of our community to keep this as a forefront issue and remind the provincial government how important it is, not just to this community, the safety of this community, but to the people heading into the north,” he said. “We have to facilitate transportation if we’re truly going to be a gateway to the north.”
Lynda Moffat, president and CEO of the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce, stopped by Athabasca County council chambers on July 12 and suggested they lobby the government about replacing the Athabasca bridge and building a highway bypass through Colinton.
“If you are advocating to have a bypass road put in, now would be a great time,” Moffat said.
Moffat told council that she met with Alberta Transportation Minister Brian Mason and senior administration three weeks ago to discuss the chamber’s interest in developing Highway 2 north as a “route of choice” and extending Ray Gibbon Drive from St. Albert to Cardiff Road, just before Morinville.
At the meeting, she brought up two issues she described as deterrents to Highway 2: the traffic lights at Cardiff Road and the heavy traffic driving through the Town of Athabasca.
“(Minister Mason) was puzzled as to why we were coming to talk about Athabasca and Cardiff Road,” she said. “I just said that we are not blessed in St. Albert with the luxury of having a huge non-residential economy. We have a high tax base coming from residential taxes, so anything that will affect commerce in this area is something that we will advocate on behalf of.”
Prior to that, Moffat said she met with Morrill. She said they discussed the bridge replacement and also looked at a recently completed highway bypass study that would reroute traffic through Colinton.
“The more individual municipalities send the same message, the more it will become a priority for (the government),” she said.
Alberta Transportation completed a truck-route functional planning study last October, which explored over 30 alternative routes that would redirect heavy traffic away from downtown Athabasca.
Two plans came out ahead, both of which would reroute Highway 2 towards Colinton and across a new bridge over the Tawatinaw River. The slightly shorter route would cost $33 million, while the second plan would ring in at $59.7 million.
The project would require the development of a new Highway 663 alignment, improved intersections and connecting service roads.
After the presentation from Moffat, council discussed inviting Mason to a regional meeting in Athabasca, with representation from St. Albert, Athabasca and Sturgeon County, the M.D. of Opportunity, as well as band council and industry north of the Athabasca River.
“If St. Albert says they’re starting to perk up ears, I’d like to see us keep their feet to the fire,” said Division 9 councillor and deputy Reeve Warren Griffin.
Division 5 councillor Kevin Haines agreed.
“I never realized St. Albert wanted this as much as our friends in the north,” he said, referring to the M.D. of Opportunity.
Council passed a motion to invite the Minister and get his availability, followed by a second motion to meet with senior Alberta Transportation administration at a regular council meeting.
