A Sundre councillor wanted to ensure that Alberta Transportation is sternly informed about the vehicle-damaging potholes plaguing Main Avenue.
“Today has been a busy day in Sundre — lots of traffic and large holes,” said Coun. Todd Dalke during the regular March 19 meeting.
By the end of the regular business day, Dalke — who also owns and operates the local Fountain Tire — said his shop, as well as Integra Tire, had serviced 14 vehicles, replaced 19 tires and also repaired damage sustained to the front end of a few vehicles.
“We are now in a one-day span, and it has cost our residents and our visitors into several thousands of dollars in damage,” he said.
“I want to make sure that this information is relayed to Alberta Transportation in strong words that it’s not good.”
But while Jim Hall, the municipality’s director of operations, acknowledged the potholes are problematic, he added that motorists’ speeds are exacerbating damage being caused to vehicles.
“We’ve done a lot of work trying to fix that hole,” he said referring to a large chunk of missing asphalt at the northwest corner of the Third Street and Main Avenue mini roundabout near Sundre NAPA Auto Parts, where pylons were placed to identify the hazard and warn drivers.
“You can navigate them at a speed of 20 kilometres an hour and not even go on top of the pad,” he said.
“Speed is an issue — one of your customers I saw come through at 5 a.m. on Saturday hit it at about 60” kilometres per hour, he said.
Officials with Alberta Highway Services, a contractor for Alberta Transportation — which is the government department responsible for maintaining highways, including Highway 27 through Sundre — have been out to check the situation with Hall, who said his proposed plan to temporarily put in place steel plates to cover the holes until they can be adequately repaired was approved.
“It took a few weeks for my suggestion to get through,” Hall told council.
That process involves patching a pothole and then placing a steel plate overtop, he told the Round Up on Tuesday, March 20.
“It should buy us time until conditions dry up enough to allow a proper fix.”
Coun. Rob Wolfe also inquired about the drastically deteriorated state of the road on the northwest corner of Centre Street and Main Avenue intersection. That section of street is beyond repair and should be in the capital plan, he said.
“It needs to be fixed.”
The municipality is responsible for the maintenance of all other streets in Sundre, and Hall said plans are in place to fully repair that part of the road, as opposed to merely proceeding with patching those potholes.
“You’ll see a report probably by the next council meeting.”
