ATHABASCA – The Colinton bridge has reopened months ahead of schedule to the surprise and appreciation of Athabasca County residents.
The bridge project, which was set for completion in mid-October, was officially completed on May 7 and opened to the public on May 8. Unofficially, locals have been using the bridge since May 5 by simply moving the signage out of the way.
“That’s small towns; the bridge is open because someone moved the signs to the side. What are we going to do?’ said Coun. Natasha Kapitaniuk who lives in Colinton.
The completion of the project is a big deal for the small hamlet where residents have been forced to drive the wrong direction to connect to the highway to then get into Athabasca. Originally closed in the spring of 2022, it took county councillors two years to move forward with the project after failing to receive grant funding on back-to-back applications.
“Thank you to the community for their patience and understanding. We did try our best to get government funding and understanding that that was the road to take at the time,” she said.
“Now we have a bridge that will live a long time.”
The final costs for the project haven’t been totalled, so it’s unclear if the contractors came in above, below, or at their budget. Kapitaniuk asked locals to be patient with the county when it comes to re-signage, pointing out that many county staff have been busy dealing with the Highway 831 wildfire.
“They’ll get to it, This isn’t the week to push that. Just have some patience with the county staff,” said Kapitaniuk.
