After persistent lobbying from local municipal officials, Canadian National Railway has completed long-awaited structural repairs to the rail crossing on Highway 88, smoothing out a notoriously rough ride for local motorists as part of a busy late-summer infrastructure push across the Town of Slave Lake.
Chief Administrative Officer Alex presented council with a comprehensive public works and administrative update during the Sept. 8 regular meeting, highlighting the completion of the railway crossing alongside several major road and utility improvements currently moving through town.
The rehabilitation of the Highway 88 crossing was carried out between Sept. 1 and Sept. 5, requiring a full one-day highway closure to allow heavy rail crews to reconstruct the tracks and road approaches. During the closure, through traffic was detoured along Caribou Trail, with the town notifying drivers in advance through social media updates and the Voyent Alert notification system.
Alex reported that the finished crossing has eliminated the severe dip that previously jarred passing vehicles, telling council that the new driving surface is now “smooth as butter.”
Elected officials expressed immediate relief over the project’s completion. Councillor Kimberly Hughes commended administration for the progress, noting that motorists had grown accustomed to bracing themselves whenever approaching the railway line.
“I agree with you about Highway 88 and the CN crossing being amazing,” Hughes said at the meeting. “I feel like I was bracing myself to drive over it the first couple times and it’s been wonderful.”
Hughes asked administration how long the municipality had been pressing CN to repair the crossing, and whether the work was the result of recent discussions or an ongoing municipal initiative.
Alex said the town has been actively lobbying CN regarding crossing conditions throughout Slave Lake for a significant period. However, Alex explained that the Highway 88 work was also part of a larger regional maintenance initiative organized by the rail company across northern Alberta. CN maintenance crews had been working their way from the north downward, carrying out repairs at several locations including crossings in the nearby Mitsue industrial area.
Alex said CN had been planning the logistics well in advance by staging materials at local yards and coordinating traffic detour plans with provincial and local authorities. Alex added that municipal lobbying played an important role in keeping local priorities on the railway’s radar, noting that town officials took advantage of CN crews being in town to show them other local crossings that still need attention.
Alex also pointed out that upcoming provincial highway considerations may have accelerated CN’s timeline, suggesting the work on Highway 88 might have been completed a little sooner than originally scheduled due to potential future paving along the provincial corridor.
The railway crossing repairs arrive in the midst of a broader municipal road construction blitz aimed at improving key traffic routes before winter conditions set in.
A written administrative report included in the council agenda package says micro-surfacing application on Main Street has officially concluded. Alex told council that traffic pylons along Main Street were scheduled to come down during the council meeting, with survey crews preparing the newly surfaced roadway for fresh line painting by the end of the week.
In addition, the town’s annual mill-and-overlay paving program is scheduled to begin the week of Sept. 7. Paving crews will begin milling asphalt in the southwest along 6th Avenue before working their way down Main Street, 6th Avenue NW, and Caribou Trail. Major intersection upgrades at Main Street and 6th Avenue NW are also underway, with concrete contractors scheduled to spend roughly 10 days completing structural upgrades.
The road paving projects are being coordinated alongside critical underground utility replacements. A written report to council says contractors completed the installation of a new water main along 11th Avenue SE on Aug. 21. Crews have been carrying out pressure testing and line flushing so nearby residents can be switched over to the new line. Work is also progressing on a sanitary sewer main replacement along a northeast alleyway, which is scheduled for full completion by late September.
To support the infrastructure push, town public works crews have been out grading gravel alleys, cleaning sewer mainlines, and painting curbs and parking stalls throughout the community. Utility crews have also started the annual process of flushing and winterizing fire hydrants from north to south to prevent freeze-ups during the upcoming winter months.
Following the discussion, Councillor Cindy Williams made a motion to accept the CAO operational update as information, which council carried unanimously.
Armaan Khanna
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter