Some "functional workî on the Olds overpass should be taking place sometime this year, the town's chief administrative officer confirmed during council's March 11 meeting.
Norm McInnis said while the provincial budget released March 7 didn't specifically mention work on the Olds overpass, Alberta Transportation has indicated it will be doing some preliminary work on the project later this year.
"It was not a specific project in the 2013 capital budget for the province, but my understanding is that they are going to tack on the Olds overpass, not full-blown work, but certainly some functional work, on the overpass this year, so we'll see major changes to the overpass and the safety of that overpass,î he said.
McInnis said while the town had known about the work in advance, the provincial government had requested the town keep the information under wraps until the province was ready to release that information. While a spokesperson with Alberta Transportation confirmed that some type of work would be done at the overpass this year, she couldn't elaborate on what type of work will be done or how much money will be spent on it.
Bruce Rowe, MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, said he suggested in a recent meeting with Transportation Minister Rick McIver that if the government didn't have the money to overhaul the overpass, that a diamond interchange be put in to fix the merging traffic.
"That's primarily the danger is the merging traffic. I wish it was the full-blown interchange, but it doesn't sound like that's going to happen for some time with their budget problems right now. (The government) is aware of the situation and how dangerous it is,î he said.
Rowe said his preference would be for the slower merging traffic to have a longer distance to merge with highway traffic, but currently that isn't possible.
McInnis said the provincial government has also determined through study that a bypass around Olds is not the best way to handle heavy traffic. He said the indication is that the provincial government wants to use the existing road network to handle heavy traffic and that the province is not in favour of building new bypass roads around communities in general.
"Good news and bad news for Olds, but the good news is we'll continue to have that traffic coming through Highway 2A and Highway 27 and we'll work diligently now with (Alberta) Transportation to make sure that those two highways are safe and functional,î he said.
The town plans to provide more information about the changes that the provincial government is planning at a future council meeting.
"I wish it was the full-blown interchange, but it doesn't sound like that's going to happen for some time with their budget problems right now." Bruce Rowe, MLA, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills
