ATHABASCA — It has taken years of lobbying to the provincial government, but the Athabasca Fire Department is finally getting one wish granted.
The large entrance to the fire hall on Highway 2 beside Fas Gas is part of the right-of-way owned by Alberta Transportation from the highway to just beyond the access road which runs parallel to the highway on the west side, so the Town of Athabasca couldn’t just pave it itself.
“That gravel lot right in front of the fire hall is actually owned by Alberta Transportation,” fire chief Travis Shalapay said. “For many years we’ve been lobbying to have some work done there because every time it rains heavily, we wash trucks, the snow melts, we get erosion happening.”
Gravel would be washed down the hill to the highway or the Fas Gas parking lot creating issues for that business.
“As part of the Highway 55 construction, they recognized our needs and our requests and they were actually willing to go forward and pave their portion which is the entirety of that gravel lot,” he said.
The lot was also graded to help with water flow which will reduce costs in the long run, Shalapay added.
“We’re not going to have to haul in gravel every six months to rebuild the surface that’s been worn out,” he said. “A couple of years ago we had to install the concrete partition down the centre so heavy vehicles would stop turning, which tears up the surface even more.”
The barrier will be put back in place once the asphalt is down to help prevent damage to it, he said.
Town of Athabasca mayor Rob Balay was also pleased seeing the work completed and said there have been few complaints he is aware of.
“By the Farmers’ Market where people have to cross from Buy Low,” he said. “There’s elevation changes where they haven’t finished the lift.”
He said there were complaints of tripping as the dark material hid an edge or dip from being noticed and resulted in several spills.
“They went out and actually painted it with pink paint so people would notice that two-inch drop in elevation and two-inch lift,” he said. “Hopefully, they get back into town and finish the parts which aren’t done very soon and then we get the lane markings put in.”
