By Sheldon Spackman

Roller-coaster Ride

Alberta Transportation still hoping to fix bumpy stretch of Highway 11 near Sylvan Lake

Feb 1, 2020 | 8:00 AM

Despite multiple attempts to get it right, officials with Alberta’s Ministry of Transportation say a long-term solution is still being looked at to fix a bumpy stretch of road between Red Deer and Sylvan Lake.

The frost heaves on the westbound lanes of Highway 11, well-known to local motorists, are caused when water from nearby Cygnet Lake filters under the highway. Water from the lake has been filtering along the north side of the highway, and the bumps are created when that water freezes.

“Alberta Transportation has completed two sets of frost heave repairs,” says Brooklyn Elhard, press secretary for the Ministry of Transportation.

“The first repair consisted of installing drains at regular intervals along the road to prevent water from entering the embankment. This prevented heaving at the drain locations, but adjacent areas continued to heave.”

Elhard’ says the second repair was to make the embankment more uniform, which is expected to help even-out the heave conditions.

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“It may take a year or two for the repaired areas to saturate to the same degree as the unrepaired areas, allowing the road surface to even-out,” her statement reads. “This method is being closely monitored and soil and groundwater conditions will be regularly inspected during this time.”

Eastbound lanes of Highway 11 near Cygnet Lake have not experienced the same frost heaves as their westbound counterparts.