A potholed section of Hwy 56 running through Stettler is so bad residents can feel their walls shake when heavy trucks go by.
That’s why the Town of Stettler is keeping its foot on the gas of a lobbying effort to get the province to upgrade the crumbling route, which is also known as 51st Avenue.
No one’s managed to find the exact date, but it’s believed the stretch of highway running through town between 46th and 57th Streets hasn’t seen any significant upgrades in 25 years.
“The highway sees a lot of heavy traffic and it’s very potholed. So when those big trucks hit those potholes it actually causes the walls in the homes to shake,” said Melissa Robbins, the town’s director of operational services.
Council was told in a recent presentation by staff that the vibrations have been severe enough to knock pictures off walls and rattle windows.
Town officials pitched their case to Alberta Transportation at a recent Alberta Urban Municipalities Association conference and didn’t come away with any commitments.
“Currently, it’s received no priority and it’s not in the three-year capital plan is what we were told,” said Robbins.
“So we’ve asked them to revisit that and to look at changing the priority of it and seeing if we can’t get some improvements done sooner rather than later.
“It’s definitely in need of some attention.”
The asphalt service is in poor repair, especially along the curbs and gutters. “It’s deteriorating and in some sections it’s missing.”
Water is pooling because of the highway’s condition doing even more damage to the road base.
The town also asked the province about plans to realign Hwy 56 to move the route out of town. Town officials were told it remains in long-term plans but is likely decades away.
“It’s a busy road and has a lot of businesses and homes fronting it and we would like to see heavy traffic not have to drive by those homes and businesses.”
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com