Westlock County road bans start March 21 at 7 a.m.
When implemented all loads transported will be required to haul only 75 per cent of their total axle weight, although agricultural producers can enter into road-use agreements with the municipality to haul at full weight. In addition, no trucks over one tonne will be permitted in the hamlets of Vimy, or in Pickardville on 53 Street from 50 Avenue to 51 Avenue.
Director of infrastructure Al Scott notified county councillors of the coming ban at their March 12 meeting — councillors voted 7-0 to accept his report as information. Later that day the municipality posted Order No. 01-2019, to make it official.
“The time is upon us that it is warming up and the roads will start thawing out and you will remember that can lead to some fragile roads,” he said. “Last year was the first year in quite awhile Westlock County enacted road bans.”
Scott added they want to be ready in case environmental conditions change rapidly.
“We (implemented the ban) March 26 of last year, then the subsequent weeks were -20 C,” he said.
“The plan is to advertise as soon as we’ve set a date. We’ll also notify transportation and our surrounding municipalities.”
He explained that frost builds up in roads over winter and when it thaws it softens the roadbed and repeated, heavy loads can lead to permanent damage.
Chief administrative officer Leo Ludwig said the March 21 date was set because as the weather appears to be warming, although he cautioned that the situation could change rapidly. He said they’re also looking for environmental cues to decide when to lift the ban as opposed to having a set timeline.
“It’s very weather dependent,” he said. “It will come down to how quickly the frost comes out, how much moisture there is, if we get rain in the interim or wet snow … that all impacts the road conditions. We’ll have to see how quickly the roads dry up and firm up.”
Farmer who sign road-use agreements must post a $3,000 deposit, determine a specific time, date and the number of loads to be transported and ensure a copy of the permit is in every vehicle hauling a load. Transportation must be done between 4 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. before the frost layer melts.
The deposit is returned unless there is damage to the road, at which point costs to repair the road are deducted from it. If the costs to repair the road exceeds the deposit, the county reserves the right to collect more money.
Last year the county entered 43 road-use agreements and the deposit was returned to all but one.
