A large section of the old bypass is will be getting a bit of a facelift this summer. City of Grande Prairie Transportation Manager Robert Carroll says the transformation on the road began last year when crews laid new asphalt west of 108th Street to the Airport.
“We were lucky we had a large capital project that rebuilt that section from Staples to the Airport, so obviously we don’t have to do much with potholes to maintenance,” he says.
Carroll says crews will soon turn their attention to the next segment of roadway, from the Staples intersection, north to 106 Street. When the city took back control of the old bypass from the Province of Alberta in 2019, the municipal government also received $20 million to help cover the costs of some deferred maintenance work.
Carroll says having such a packed construction schedule has made the process much smoother, especially when it comes to potentially avoiding the need for patchwork.
“It’s good to keep the capital work coming, from the maintenance perspective, it certainly makes it more manageable.”
He adds a close eye is also being kept on the pothole situation around Grande Prairie, with mother nature seemingly lending a hand in the process. Carroll says with the snowmelt all but complete, a lack of snow accumulation in rural areas left the roads in better shape than usual.
“We didn’t get that rush of water coming through Bear Creek and having to deal with flooding and washouts and all that we would normally be dealing with in April of any other year,” he adds.
No word on when the road work on the bypass is expected to begin.