WESTLOCK – Westlock County’s aim to increase traffic safety at the intersection of Highways 44 and 661 continues, with the municipality set to immediately erect a sign on Township Road 622 warning of an “importation intersection ahead”, followed by meetings with Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors officials and the owners of the Dapp Corner Store.
At the Aug. 15 county committee of the whole (COW) meeting, CAO Tony Kulbisky presented councillors with five proposals to increase safety at the intersection, located roughly 20 kilometres north of the Town of Westlock, noting three will need approval from the province, while one is tied to parking at the store. Kulbisky first brought the issue to council’s attention at the July 18 COW meeting, stating that in his initial discussions with Transportation officials, he was told the intersection is “as safe as they can make it.”
Going forward, Kulbisky said he wants to meet with the store owners to “get their viewpoints and see if what we’re suggesting makes sense”, then speak with Transportation officials before reporting back to council in September. That said, councillors agreed, as per Kulbisky’s first recommendation, to install a sign this week on Township Road 622 to warn drivers of an “importation intersection ahead” which will “raise awareness one more time before they get to the stop sign.”
“Even if one life is saved or one injury is prevented, that would be a good thing,” said Kulbisky in an Aug. 16 follow-up interview. “I really think these small improvements could make a big difference.”
Councillors by and large liked Kulbisky’s suggestions, with Coun. Sherri Provencal saying she “loved all of the ideas” as there’s “been too many lives lost” at the intersection — ultimately, Kulbisky’s report was accepted 7-0 as information.
“I do appreciate what you’ve done here. Again, there’s only so much we can do, but I think we’ve already gone above and beyond and I think if we can keep the ball rolling a little bit … ” said Coun. Stuart Fox-Robinson. “I drove by that area eight times over the weekend. Going north there were no issues. Coming south, three of the four times there was an issue with a car pulling out to head south and not paying attention to the traffic coming from the north on Highway 44. Frankly, maybe a sign saying how many people have been killed at this intersection may have more impact.”
Kulbisky told councillors that he spent time at the store over the August long weekend watching the traffic “to get a good feel of what’s going on in that area” and then worked with staff on “suggested improvements that could be done.”
His briefing to council notes the nearly parallel approaches of Highway 44 and Highway 801 lead to the “S-curve” turns to switch highways or enter the store’s parking lot, while the inward bend of Highway 44 leaves sightlines coming off Township Road 622 in the blind spot of eastbound traffic. The briefing states that drivers unfamiliar with the area, often driving large vehicles like campers heading to Long Island Lake, are “unsure of the safest way to enter Highway 801.”
“Visibility between all incoming roads is also sometimes obstructed by large vehicles or trees, while the southern exit of the parking lot has poor sightlines leading onto Highway 44,” reads the briefing in part.
The proposals
Along with the new county signage, Kulbisky recommends changes to the store’s parking lot on the west side which “blocks the sightline of vehicles heading north on Highway 44 from seeing oncoming vehicles or congestion on Highway 801 or Highway 661.”
He says it’s a problem that’s exacerbated when the vehicles are “busses, farm equipment, or recreational vehicles” while reeve Christine Wiese noted that Canada Post boxes on site also leads to more congestion.
His next proposal calls for the removal of the right turn onto Highway 44 from the southern exit, a “U-turn-like maneuver” some drivers use to leave the store and head north on to Highway 44. In its place, he says they’d redirect traffic to the higher-visibility highway intersection which would make driver behavior “more predictable.”
Third, Kulbisky said there are 2.64 acres worth of trees between Highway 801 and Highway 44 and removing at least some of them “would greatly increase visibility between southbound traffic on Highway 801 and Highway 44” as well as “westward visibility coming from Highway 661.”
“In addition, drivers coming from Township Road 622 would be able to see oncoming traffic from Highway 801 and judge their speed. Southbound drivers not coming to a full stop can be seen and avoided far in advance,” reads the briefing in part.
Finally, Kulbisky wants additional lanes on Highway 661 to direct turning vehicles so that drivers can “better indicate their intentions” and space can be made for those waiting to turn safely and reduce the “free-for-all nature” of the current intersection.
“If space permits, lines could be painted without any additional construction or paving, better allocating the existing road surface rather than trying to extend it. Especially for drivers unfamiliar to the area, having indicated lanes and lines to direct traffic can encourage making slower and safer turns,” the briefing reads.
The final proposal was only one that raised the eyebrows of a handful of councillors, who ultimately deferred to Kulbisky, as well as Transportation, which will have the final say on any changes at the intersection.
Investigation into most recent crash continues
The most-recent fatality at the intersection occurred just before 3 p.m., June 6, when a black Ford F-150 heading west on Highway 661 crossed Highway 44 and was clipped in the front by the southbound semi-truck hauling a sea-can trailer with non-hazardous material.
The collision caused the semi to roll into the east ditch roughly 100 metres from the Dapp Corner Store — the truck flipped onto its roof, while the trailer unit was on its side and covered half of the northbound lane of Highway 44. A 35-year-old man from Calgary succumbed to his injuries at the scene, while the driver of the pickup, a Westlock-area man, was uninjured.
Westlock RCMP officers, along with members of the Alberta RCMP Traffic-Westlock Unit and Athabasca RCMP, as well as ambulance crews and firefighters from the Town of Westlock and Westlock County, worked to save the semi driver as the highway didn’t reopen to traffic until 8 p.m. that night — the day of the crash, road conditions were perfect “as it was sunny, clear and dry.”
In an Aug. 17 interview, Westlock RCMP Detachment acting commander Cpl. Riley Sutherland said the investigation into the incident remains open as the collision analyst is still working on a report.
