When the time comes to replace the bridge over the Athabasca River on Hwy 813, Alberta Transportation has an idea of where to put the new one.
Speaking at a public open house at the Athabasca Regional Multiplex last Thursday, relocation project manager Dale Scrink said they had narrowed down relocation options to one route, which is very close to the current location of the bridge.
“The process so far has been to collect some information about the existing bridge, the community and traffic flow,” Scrink explained. “Then we will look at options for where we would put a new bridge when it is time to replace the existing one.”
Several locations were considered, including one that came across from the look out, one that scaled the hill near the Wood Heights subdivision, and one that is similar to the current alignment.
“We looked at locations that are close to the existing bridge, and locations that are further away,” he said. “At the end of the day, what we think is the preferred location is close to the existing bridge, but just a little downstream.”
Scrink said the main factor in the realignment for the bridge was safety.
“We also considered things like environmental impact, and impact on land use, traffic flow,” he explained. “The existing location provided the overall best value.”
Another advantage of keeping the bridge in a similar location is that landowners will not be affected as much as if the road was to be realigned.
“Alberta Transportation is just trying to be proactive and develop a plan for the replacement of the bridge so that when the need is identified to replace it, they have everything ready, and they have it ready to go,” he said. “I think the truck bypass route has brought up the occasional issues that people will have, but no one has any negative comments on what we have selected.”
Scrink said the process of replacing a bridge is a long one.
“It takes a long time to go through the process of selecting a location and getting all the environmental studies, the permits, designing the bridge — that all takes time,” he said.
“They want to get that done and out of the way so that when it is time to replace the bridge, they are a step ahead.”
Scrink said that anyone with an interest in the project is welcome to contact him at 780-432-1301 ext. 403.
