One resident living south of Drumheller is concerned about a little more than just a bump in the road.
Jim Eskeland lives along what is commonly known as the Taylor Siding Road. This is Highway 841 heading south of Highway 9. It becomes Highway 569 as it heads towards east Dalum. At about the midway point there is a major cave-in on the road, and it is nothing new. Eskeland explains the road caved in during the spring and crews came and patched it up.
“It sloughed again in late September and it has been near two months,” said Eskeland. “It has about a six foot drop and half the road is gone.”
He said currently there are two wooden barricades on either end of the damages with no flashing lights.
“There is no indication coming up to it that it is a single lane,” he said. “I phoned and asked for the barricades after we were out on a fire call one night. Being that I drive the road regularly, I knew they would have to watch that. If they didn’t know and it was foggy or a blizzard, who is to say they are gong to see it?”
He explains the road was classified as a Resource Road a few years ago and there is traffic from a couple resource-based installations in the area. It is heavily travelled. Now that cooler weather has set in there are concerns that it won’t be fixed until spring.
Tony Chelick, operations manager for Alberta Transportation acknowledged the slide about 250 metres north of the junction of Highways 841 and 569. He says the second slide was caused by the wet weather experienced last summer.
“The depressed area on the third highway surface will be filled prior to the onset of winter to allow for safe travel and will be signed as required,” Chelick said via e-mail last week.
He goes on to indicate more substantive repairs could come next year.
“This site will be studied again in the spring of 2013 and a more substantive repair will be programmed,” he said.
For Eskeland, it should have never come to this point.
“To me they should fix it right, quit patching it and fix it right. Now they have waited and pushed themselves into winter,” said Eskeland. “How do you patch something that has sloughed, obviously it is unstable under there and when the frost comes out in the spring, then what? To me a secondary highway where half the road has slipped away should be a priority.”
While often in Alberta the weather is so fleeting it is difficult to pin down, however last week’s blast of snow made it clear that winter driving season is upon the valley.
In the spirit of community, residents will be scouring their neighbourhoods on November 29 to help other neighbours at the annual food driver.
