For most people in M.D. #124, the old Smith highway is never thought about. But for the people that live on it and drive over it every day, the old stretch of gravel is foremost in their mind and is often a cause for great concern. Many, like Nora Eben, would like to see it paved. She lives on the road and drives 86 kms of it each day to get back and forth from work.
“There’s no reason for roads in the north to be in this condition,” says Eben. “The M.D. tells us that there is just no money to pave the road to Smith. I don’t understand that. When (I) look at other regions like Athabasca and Westlock, all their roads are paved and they’re farming districts. They don’t have the industry that Slave Lake does.”
M.D. councillor George Snider says that the M.D. is not sitting on its hands or hoarding any money. He says there are more than a few projects currently running in the district with more on the drawing board.
“What you need to remember is that we look after approximately 1000 kms of road in the municipality all the way from the Hamlet of Flatbush all the way up to north of Hwy #754 and considerable areas east and west of Slave Lake,” says Snider. “It’s a big area. Our council has to look and distribute the resources in the municipality, and not only for roads.
“For example, we’re building a $5 million dollar bridge down in Flatbush right now. We just finished a $1 million bridge at the Hamlet of Marten River, and we have another million and a half dollars worth of bridges that are in design work right now. Plus there’s the extension of our waste water system out in Southshore. We’re loking at some pretty big projects.”
The M.D. is spending millions to improve service for residents. According to Snider, there is more work planned yet for the old Smith highway. “It’s not like were neglecting the old Smith highway. The municipality has had a program since 1999 with regard to recontructing the old Smith highway from Tollenaar bridge to the Hamlet of Smith. We were successful in getting the road designated from a local road to a resource road. That means we would get funding from the government. Currently 50 per cent of the cost is shared by the provincial government under the program, up to a maximum $3 million available per year.
“As a result of that, we have carried out three projects on the road and have reconstructed the road from what they call the Tollenaar bridge to the Tiger Calcium (well site). We’re also in the design stages for the next 15kms of the road toward Smith projected for possible construction in 2007.”
All the money spent on the old road to date has been to improve the stretch between the calium well and Mitsue Indutrial Park. Tiger Calcium has trucks that roll down the road several times a day, filled to capacity with calcium. But as the region grows, so to does truck traffic.
“The road had experienced phenomenal growth in resource traffic but that was our goal,” says Snider. “To upgrade the road to a reasonable standard for resource road traffic. We rebuild the road and do some surface treatment on it for dust control. We’ve spent somewhere in the neighbourhood of $9 million on the road to date. We know there are residents out on the old Smith highway that are unhappy but I can honestly say since 1999, that road has seen substantial improvement.
“I don’t see pavement happening in the forseeable future. The cost to upgrade the section of road we’ve built to date to a paved standard is in excess of $10 million. That’s outside the realm of available funding within our municipality to do that on just a selected section of road.”
The dust control Snider refers to is calcium chloride treatment. The mixture is not only ultra absorbant, it helps provide a hard pack surface. Well-maintained sections of the road are almost as smooth as pavement in spots. The dust cloud usually created by a passing vehicle is virtually non-existant but there can a down side.
“George told us that he had the road soaked with four inches of calcium. Calcium absorbs water,” says Eben. “It’s a dread to wake up on a rainy day because (I) know what the road will be like. It becomes almost soupy and nearly impassable in places. Some times I can only drive 30 or 40 kph when I trying to get to work.”
According to Eben, if the road is not graded soon after it dries, the ruts and holes solidify making the road almost as hard to drive on as when it’s wet. She understands the need to improve the quality of the road, but doubts that need for dust control measures.
“I’ve been told by the M.D. that there is a very small window of opportunity to grade the road after it rains (before it hardens),” Eben says. “The problem is, it seems to me that they’re not working in that window. When the grader does come by, it doesn’t do much good. I suppose the work on the road is good if they could leave the calcium off it. Poor maintenance is my bigggest conern with this road."

Copyright © 2000 The Lakeside Leader. All Rights Reserved.
No part may be reproduced without written permission.

View our Privacy Statement.
Send website suggestions to the Webmaster