Canadian Pacific Railway is in the process of replacing tracks at railway crossings around town over the next two months.The first crossing on the company's list is located on 57 Avenue just south of town. Construction began on May 20.Scott Chant, the Town of Olds' interim director of operational services, expects the work to take about two days.He added barricades will be erected and traffic will not be allowed through during the replacement.“We'll have to put up barricades in the town portion. We've got 57 Avenue and 60 Street, the intersection that we have to close down so no traffic can go further south,” he said.Eric Godlingdon, a supervisor for Canadian Pacific, added residents can also expect some noise as crews work.Chant said the railway crossing at 57 Avenue is one of three around town that need to be replaced. The other two are located at Highway 27 and 50 Street.Godlingdon said the tracks at the crossings have reached the end of their lifespan.Canadian Pacific is also changing the weight of the steel used for the tracks from Calgary to Red Deer, he added.For approximately every 91 centimetres of track, the new steel will weigh about 62 kilograms, Godlingdon said. Before, it weighed about 52 kilograms.Godlingdon said the heavier tracks will last longer and require less maintenance.Chant said the tracks will also be able to accommodate heavier trains.Crews have been preparing the tracks for replacement to minimize the length of road closures due to construction, Godlingdon said.“All we do is slide the section of track in and do it up quick so the roadway's not closed for very long,” he said.The replacements at Highway 27 and 50 Street will be scheduled around water and sewage repairs for the downtown Olds area in July.Those water and sewage repairs are expected to start July 15 and finish at the end of August, Chant said.Replacement activities will have to be completed beforehand or wait until repairs are finished, he continued.Chant says residents need to be patient when driving around town during construction.“Watch for signage and expect delays,” he said. “We get told there's roughly 16,000 vehicles a day going down Highway 27. They're going to get re-routed somewhere.”[email protected]
