Summer road construction season in Red Deer County is fixing to be a busy one if the weather cooperates.“We have quite a bit of road work we want to do this summer,” said Marty Campbell, director of operations for the county. He said 2012 has “one of the biggest budgets” for roadwork and maintenance ever planned in Red Deer County.Campbell said the road project budget for the year, which includes the construction costs and other items like paving and chipsealing, is about $20 million.Campbell said major projects planned for the year include two bridge replacement projects and some major work on Rge. Rd. 273 and Twp. Rd. 362 (Old Pole Road).The bridge replacement projects affect the bridge over Medicine River on Rge. Rd. 30 and the bridge over Raven River on Rge. Rd. 42.Campbell said the bridge budget is about $7 million but funding will be paid for by Alberta Transportation.Road construction will affect Old Pole Road from Highway 2A to Highway 791.“It's rebuilding the road and grading it,” Campbell said, adding the plan is to have the road base-paved later in the summer. Campbell said Alberta Transportation is funding the paving of the road.“Not only does this allow for good access to QEII and 2A, it is a major east-west route within the county,” said Mayor Jim Wood in his release about the road plan.The other major road construction project Campbell cited was Rge. Rd. 273 between Highway 42 and Twp. Rd. 372, which links Highway 791 with 49 Avenue in the City of Red Deer.Campbell said the road is to be rebuilt and prepped for base paving.June is the planned start date of the big projects, Campbell said, and it's hoped smaller road repairs can start as soon as the rain stops.“We have a huge maintenance program,” Campbell said, noting there is also a bridge repair and maintenance program and a drainage program in place.“It's all over the county this year,” Campbell said.Construction will continue into the fall.“We go right to freeze-up,” Campbell said.The public works maintenance and capital budgets total about $40 million, Campbell said.The road bans necessary to allow the construction went into place in mid-March, Campbell said, and won't be lifted until the provincial bans are ready to go.More road projects are currently out to tender and could be added to the slate of projects, Campbell said.In the release on the county road plan, Wood said council has approved a 10-year road strategy and a five-year work plan has been prepared by county staff.
