Photo taken from Clearwater County's Public Works Report

By Adam Ophus

"It needs a large upgrade"

Clearwater County seeking support to get O’Chiese road paved

Jun 23, 2021 | 3:01 PM

Over the years, Clearwater County council has heard multiple complaints over the quality and safety of gravel road 42-5A, or the “O’Chiese Road,” and on Tuesday discussed how and when they may pave it.

The road currently is paved coming from Highway 11 to Highway 756 until you hit the 17 km long gravel stretch heavily utilized by industry vehicles and residents coming in and out of O’Chiese.

When the oil industry dipped, traffic counts on the road dropped to 388 vehicles a day as of last year after being upwards of 900 in 2014. With oil prices increasing, county council are expecting the traffic to increase once again.

Public Infrastructure Director Erik Hansen noted during council’s meeting Tuesday that the road has been deemed a paving priority for some time now.

Clearwater County has tentatively set a date in their 10-year Capital Plan of having the road base graded by 2023 and paved in 2024. Hanson noted that it’s not a concrete timeline but more of a political motivation to say this is Clearwater County’s commitment to this project.

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$5 million dollars have been ear marked for the paving of the road. The county has also been seeking a partnership with the provincial and federal government to financially assist due to the high cost of the project, around $16 million.

Reeve Cammie Laird mentioned a conversation she had with MLA Jason Nixon who said that he does recognize the issue, but nothing has come of it.

The road has required additional maintenance recently that the county has estimated to cost around $200,000, which will improve drivability but will not be a part of the grading project. It will only bring the road up to what it was.

Currently the road costs roughly $16,000 per kilometre a year to maintain, while on average other roads in the county cost around $5,000.

Infrastructure Director Erik Hansen explained that for a gravel road that costs roughly $5,000 per Km to maintain a year, paving would put the cost up to around $14,000.

“This road is a significant investment annually in maintenance,” he said.

Councillor Theresa Laing, who represents the area, stated that she has received multiple complaints from people regarding the poor state the road is in.

“If the road doesn’t get paved, it definitely needs a large upgrade.”

Hansen recommended getting the road to a safe and drivable state until the county was ready to grade and pave the road. He also said that they shouldn’t get into anything until they have support, as it would be difficult to get any reimbursement.

Council passed a motion to increase the County’s advocacy for financial assistance in getting the road paved.

Council also moved with a vote of 6-1 to get a detailed design for 2021.