Repairs to deep potholes in Wandering River have begun, according to Athabasca County director of infrastructure services Brian Adamkewicz.
“We are pleased to say repair work at the intersection of 2nd Street and 1st Street (Main Street) has been completed by county crews,” Adamkewicz told the Advocate last week. “These repairs, and the general conditions of 1st Street, will continue to be monitored until we can move forward with resurfacing.”
Wandering River residents have expressed concerns about the state of the hamlet’s roads, and councillor Jack Dowhaluk echoed those at a county council meeting last Tuesday.
Dowhaluk said enough’s enough and wanted to know when the county was going to address Wandering River’s potholes.
Athabasca County communications coordinator Karl Kopan stated two weeks ago that 1st Street within Wandering River would be fully repaired and paved in 2014.
Kopan explained an upcoming tender would be issued “for the repair of two sections of 1st Street in Wandering River.”
Specifically, he said 1st Street between 2nd Street and 1st Avenue would receive a pavement overlay, and that design work is also underway for base paving on 1st Street between 1st Avenue and Township Road 720.
“Athabasca County is proposing a cost-sharing arrangement for this work with Alberta Transportation to include it in the upcoming tender for the twinning of Highway 63 near Wandering River,” said Kopan.
But Dowhaluk wanted to deliver a message to administration that he’s waited long enough.
“It’s impassible,” said Dowhaluk, claiming of some of potholes in Wandering River roads are more than a foot deep.
“If there are foot-deep holes, we will be getting on those pretty quick,” assured Adamkewicz at the meeting.
“Well, we’ve got to do something, even if we put gravel there once a week or something,” said Dowhaluk, insisting the damage to the roads is not simply due to wet conditions.
Wandering River resident Vivian Aubee has stated some of the holes are two-feet deep and that ratepayers in the hamlet are concerned.
Aubee said five years of waiting for the roads to be either graded or paved is patience enough.
More recently, Aubee confirmed that construction crews were out working on the roads in the hamlet last week.
Adamkewicz acknowledged increased traffic generated by Highway 63 at Wandering River has, particularly on 1st Street, added pressure to the roads in the hamlet.
Adamkewicz encourages county residents to contact the Athabasca County Public Works department directly at 780-675-2404 to report any sections of road they feel require repair.
He also said there is an after-hours “Safe Roadway” telephone line county residents can call at 780-689-9000 to inform the county of “emerging road safety issues such as washed-out bridges, changes to the safety of the roads due to severe weather conditions or other factors.”
