One local resident has made his voice heard on the need for a truck bypass around Athabasca, and now he wants others to do the same.
The importance of such a bypass became clear to Fred Martin on the morning of Dec. 2, 2010 when he tried to cross the intersection of Highway 2 and Highway 55. Standing on the sidewalk waiting for the green light, he was saved only by his attentiveness when a turning truck crossed his path and came hauntingly close to hitting him. Had he not jumped back, it likely would have.
Since then, the local resident has taken it upon himself to raise the issue with local decision makers, including representatives of the town and county, the local MLA and even the Minister of Transportation. He has also created a website, http://athabascasafetyroute.org, to better educate the public and encourage them to speak their minds.
With the oil and lumber industries flourishing north of Athabasca, Martin points out that truck traffic will only grow in the coming years, which will in turn make the need for a bypass or safety route even more pronounced.
“It’s just a matter of time until something very serious happens at this corner. It’s a time bomb ready to explode,” he writes in a letter on the website.
The solution laid out on the website suggests that heavy traffic coming south on Highway 813 be diverted to the southwest over a new bridge upstream from Athabasca to join a range road on the west side of town; specifically Range Road 231.
“This would allow heavy truck traffic to flow through Athabasca without having to turn at (the hotel corner). East/west heavy traffic would have no difficult turns as this alignment is straight through town.”
A new river crossing is a crucial part of his solution, and Martin is adamant that replacing the current bridge with one in the same spot or nearby would be unwise.
“A new bridge across the Athabasca, in a location upstream to facilitate such a safety route, would virtually eliminate all of the safety concerns. Building a new bridge near the old bridge will do absolutely nothing in addressing the present heavy truck traffic challenges and will, in fact, increase the government’s liability as it would allow higher and heavier loads.”
With Alberta Transportation set to host an open house on Oct. 18 to gather feedback from the community, the future of such a bypass seems to be becoming clearer. While Martin has given a lot of thought to the solution presented on his website, he will be happy to support whatever decision is made by Alberta Transportation as long as it means a bypass is on the way.
But he cautions that there is still much work to be done, and he believes the community must unite in doing it.
“My only concern is that people are going to sit back and not do anything. We need to keep the pressure on until it’s done,” he said.
“Get your proposals ready and go to the open house.”
The time has come to act, according to Martin.
“We’ve got a real window of opportunity that we can get something done; I don’t want it to fade away.”
For more information on the proposed bypass and Martin’s solution, visit http://athabascasafetyroute.org.
