The reopening of Rge. Rd. 52 last week was a welcome boost to the community, but businesses are still being hurt by the continued closure of the Water Valley Campground, says a spokesman for the small commercial hub.ìObviously we're quite happy ñ so is the neighbourhood,î Water Valley Saloon owner Lee Bolster said Wednesday, one day after Rge. Rd. 52 was reopened with a 60-foot bridge spanning a section washed out in flooding on May 27.Bolster said he noticed a change in business ìjust overnight,î as ìlots of people live here and work north, so it makes a huge difference for them.îBut at the same time, he said, he was ìa little bit disappointed that the approaches to the campground weren't done.îClosed since the Little Red Deer River overran its banks on May 27, the county-owned campground's 30 to 40 sites ìhave a direct bearing on businesses around here,î said Bolster, who presented the business community's case to council at its June 22 meeting, when the temporary bridge fix was ordered for the washed-out range road.ìIt's obvious that council was not aware of the degree of the effect the road closure and loss of campground would have on the business community and the people who come through here,î he said last week.Bolster said the community was never consulted before the campground at Skunk Hollow was decommissioned. The county's argument ñ that rebuilding the road washed out after the 2005 flood would have cost $3.5 million ñ was ìpretty bizarre,î since the $150,000 spent to decommission the campground could probably have covered the cost of the roadwork, he said.ìI think the administration, the bureaucracy and the council made a horrendous terrible mistake decommissioning that.îWhile ìit would probably take an act of God to get Skunk Hollowî re-established as a campground, the county should look at leasing out the Water Valley Campground if it can't operate the facility on its own, Bolster said.ìAs a resource to the county it would be wise to lease it.îWater Valley Hardware owner Jean Sefton said she was pleased with Rge. Rd. 52 reopening.ìThe biggest reason we wanted the road fixed was EMS,î Sefton said.But like Bolster, she said the campground reopening, even only partially, would be a big plus for local businesses.Last year, ìwhen it was working,î with both the road and campground open, ìit was really good,î Sefton said.Reopening the campground would require about one week's work, CAO Tony Martens said Thursday.ìIt has to be cleaned up and some road work has to be done inside there,î Martens said.However, he added, ìright now we've got road issues to deal with, rather than campground issues.îThe temporary bridge was rented from a Red Deer company and installed by Rick Martin Trucking of Sundre, with prices ìtotally to be determined,î infrastructure projects manager Ryan Morrison said Thursday.Operational services has some concerns about the bridge being a single lane, as drivers are accustomed to two-lane traffic, Morrison said.The department plans to bring recommendations for a more permanent road fix to council later this month.
