Cracks can be seen across 19 Street, looking west, at the south end of Red Deer. (City of Red Deer)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

city council

$22 million South East Sector transportation improvement project gets go-ahead

Mar 15, 2021 | 7:08 PM

Over $22 million in road improvements for southeast Red Deer have been given the green light by city council.

The South East Sector Improvements – 19 Street Rebuild was originally part of the most recent budget deliberations, but council deferred their decision pending a more thorough report.

Administration brought that report forward Monday, pitching the $22.395 million project that council approved by a 7-1 vote, with Councillor Vesna Higham dissenting.

The project is extensive, with construction beginning in 2022 and finishing in 2023.

Council was told the work is necessary for several reasons, including the excessive deterioration of road structure along 19 Street from Irwin Avenue to Gaetz Avenue.

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“As the road breaks up, you can see the cracks, the way it starts to heave and basically there’s nothing below the asphalt holding it from breaking right up, so potholes and that kind of thing begin to occur more frequently,” explained Konrad Dunbar, Manager of Engineering Services, adding that giant sinkholes are thankfully not on the menu.

“We can look at the road and know it’s in the process of failing, but when it’ll actually fall apart, we don’t. When that happens though, cost goes right up, so you need to get to these things before they get to a point of no repair.”

Dunbar said there is breathing room and that 19 Street won’t fail catastrophically “tomorrow,” but city taxpayers will be on the hook for a lot more if the project were to be pushed further down the road.

Component two of the project is a roundabout at the 19 Street/40 Avenue intersection, the worst in the city for major injury-causing collisions. Approximately 32,000 vehicles travel through it daily.

Dunbar also pointed out that while there is some opposition to roundabouts, the statistics don’t lie. Minor collisions, primarily fender benders, at Red Deer’s two major roundabouts increased early on but have since dipped as motorists become more accustomed to them. Major collisions were immediately reduced by up to 70 per cent and continue on a downward trend.

At the 67 Street/Johnstone Drive traffic delays went from 59 seconds with lights to six seconds with the roundabout. At 67 Street and 30 Avenue it went from 17 seconds to seven. Projections show a reduction from 30 seconds to just six once the 19 Street/40 Avenue roundabout is installed.

Combining road and roundabout construction with the final component, a new multi-use trail along 19 Street’s north side, will reduce the impact to residents and provide maximum cost efficiency. The trail will be about 850 metres long and has a budget of $1 million, something Councillor Higham expressed was hard to grasp. If that or any aspect of the project comes in under budget, the leftover dollars will go back into City coffers.

Higham moved to table the project so administration could find a way to do the trail for under $500,000, but was voted down by council vote.

The trail, which will connect 40 Avenue with 46 Avenue, will reduce the number of times pedestrians cross 19 Street.

An extension of the left hand turn bay from 19 Street into Westerner Park is also on the way, acting on a concern initially raised during Budget 2020 talks.

It’s noted that as the city grows beyond its current boundaries, further evaluation of the transportation network will be needed to account for the needs of regional traffic. A ring road project could come into play, but further discussions would need to be had with Alberta Transportation and Red Deer County to determine an appropriate location for connection to the freeway.

The City will conduct a survey asking for public feedback on the detailed design of the project, and for its thoughts about Red Deer’s existing roundabouts. Dates and details about the survey are still to come.