Alberta Transportation is weighing their options in regards to twinning the Boyle section of Highway 63.
A well-attended public open house on the subject brought out more than 100 people from Boyle and Athabasca County to the Boyle Community Centre last Wednesday.
Arthur Gordon, a principal with CastleGlenn Consultants which is assessing the options to twin the highway, stated very early on in his presentation that this project has not been allocated funding.
“I want to make sure everyone is aware that at this time there is no funding that has been put aside for this particular project,” he said. “The reason we are undertaking this study is simply to prepare everyone for the ultimate vision as to what could happen.”
Three options are being considered, with two phases each that show a short-term and long-term plan.
Option one shows the highway staying where it is in both stages; however, in stage one some interchanges need to be relocated to accommodate an influx of traffic. The long-term plan depicts an interchange southeast of the Village of Boyle. Gordon explained the disadvantages of this option include poor Hwy 663 continuity because of the location of the interchange, utility relocation, the placement of the railway and the height of the interchange. The advantage of the first option is that there would be minimal reconstruction because the highway will only need to be widened, and not relocated.
Option two involves the relocation of Hwy 63. The highway would then run almost parallel to the railway. The interchange would be southwest of the village, and the highway would continue one mile south of the current highway. The disadvantages with this design would include the impact to farmers’ fields, as the highway would leave them with sections that would be unfarmable. A 16-kilometre section of highway would have to be constructed.
An advantage of this option is that Highway 663 would not have to be relocated.
The third option shows the interchange north of the village. However there would need to be two rail crossings installed on Hwy 663 as a result of the interchange location.
The three options vary in price from option one at a short-term stage of $106 million and then an addition of $98 million to transition into a freeway-style highway. Option two carries a price tag of $99 million, then an additional $173 million. Option three would be an initial cost of $106 million, with $76 million of additional costs in the freeway stage.
These prices include a study area from Highway 55 down southwest of Boyle to Township Road 642.
“The objectives of the study are to review all the existing conditions of what is happening today,” Gordon explained.
“If we are spending $100 to $200 million, we have got to make sure the village survives, and stimulates economic development in the community.”
Each option affects the layout of the Village of Boyle’s growth, and land use plan in the future.
“Roads do have a spinoff affect on land use and vise-versa,” Gordon explained.
“We have to make sure we are integrating into the plans you want to see as a community.”
Gordon said the whole point of the open house was to hear from the public.
“We are also carrying out a public involvement process,” he said.
“This process involves getting input from you. You live here, you work here, you understand the way things work, and you also have a vision of how the municipality will develop over time. We want to be able to understand that vision, and we want to be able to make sure that we are addressing public and safety interests along the corridor.”
In terms of picking an option of where the highway will go, Gordon said he needs all the information from landowners to make a sound selection.
“We need to build a case for the selection of a recommended solution that enhances the Village of Boyle and Athabasca County for desired growth and prosperity,” he said.
“The (highway) not only has to build the best transportation corridor, it also has to build the best environment for all of us.”
In terms of average transportation growth on highways in the province, Gordon explained that Highway 63 is an anomaly.
“If we look at highways of the same exact configuration in the province, and we average them all, the average growth in the province is two per cent; roughly 25 per cent of what we are experiencing on Highway 63.”
From 2006 to 2010, approximately 200 collisions occurred from Hwy 55 to Township Road 642. More than half those collisions involved an animal.
“Only 15 per cent are multi-vehicle collisions,” he said.
In closing, Gordon asked everyone to fill out questionnaires and to contact CastleGlenn Consultants with any suggestions they have.
“I need help,” he told those in attendance at the event.
“I need all of your opinions with regard to what you see developing over time. There are three very different visions that we have in regards to how this can develop.”
