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(Red Deer County)
PROVINCIALLY-FUNDED PROJECT

Red Deer County council approves contractor for Junction 42 expansion

Jan 7, 2025 | 10:55 AM

Red Deer County council has awarded the tender for the Junction 42 roundabout and rest stop expansion project.

The work was awarded on Jan. 7 to Pidherney’s for an amount of $6,767,997.43, including GST. Pidherney’s has worked with the county on past projects such as intersection improvements at Hwy 11A and Range Road 282, and similar work where the QEII Highway crosses the Hwy 2 East Service Road.

According to the county, this latest project includes development of a roundabout at the intersection of Junction Drive and Hwy 42, plus the development of an additional five-acre truck parking/rest stop directly adjacent to the existing truck lot.

There were five bids submitted for the project, with the highest offer at over $8.3 million.

After the tender award, additional costs such as a 12 per cent contingency, plus engineering and land acquisition for the roundabout, and engineering for the parking lot; this brings the total estimated cost to just under $7.93 million.

As noted in the meeting by Councillor Brent Ramsay, contingency for county-overseen projects is typically 10 per cent.

“In this case, our contract engineers recommended 12 [per cent],” explained Ron Barr, the county’s technical and project planning manager. “There are a few little things out there that might push things over; we’re going over some pipelines. In this case, we had some buffer, so it’s not a bad thing to have that in there.”

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The buffer he’s referring to is the province having budgeted closer to $9.5 million for the project.

Aside from the county’s land contribution and future parking lot maintenance, the Government of Alberta is paying for the project through the Ministry of Transportation and Economic Corridors.

There was one councillor who voted against the awarding of the contract, that being Councillor Christine Moore, who didn’t offer comment during the meeting.

Initially not reachable for comment, Moore told rdnewsNOW later Tuesday that she supports the project wholeheartedly, but explained her vote in opposition.

“Last year, council approved a forensic audit of the procurement processes in Red Deer County,” she said.

“On Dec. 3, 2024, council received the forensic audit update and is currently in the process of reviewing the detailed report. From my perspective, it is premature to approve major projects until that review process is complete.”

Mayor Jim Wood was not present for the meeting.

Work is slated to begin in May, with completion by Sept. 15, 2025.