The Town of Penhold is frustrated by the wait for a remedy for a hazardous intersection.
The town recently sent letters to the Ministry of Transportation and Innisfail MLA Devin Dreeshen outlining the need for a roundabout at the intersection of highways 2A and 42.
Mayor Mike Yargeau said earlier this year, the roundabout was discussed in a provincial transportation report, but since then, the town hasn’t heard anything about the project, or when it might go forward.
The government had noted that a roundabout could work better than a traffic light.
Yargeau said there has been increased traffic at the intersection, which has led to more accidents and traffic issues.
He’s not sure why problems occur at the crossing, which is marked with large two-way stop signs.
“I don’t know why there are so many accidents there. It’s a fairly straight forward intersection with good sight lines in every direction. It is very busy,” he said.
“It’s sort of a gateway for people to head out west for the weekend, so you get a lot of traffic when people head out camping, as well as a lot of people from Innisfail use it for their commute to work. If you hit it at the right time, there’s a lot of traffic coming through there.”
Yargeau hopes the town can receive some clarity about when a solution will come for the intersection.
“It’s one thing for them to say that it’s going to be upgraded, but we’d like to know when. The province has announced a lot of infrastructure money, a lot of it specifically going to road projects,” Yargeau said.
“So we’re curious if we’re on the list, and if not, can we be on that list? It is a safety issues and is something that’s been talked about for a long time and we’re still waiting.”