Bow Islanders not interested in rerouting Highway 3

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on October 22, 2021.

https://www.medicinehatnews.com@MedicineHatNews

A plebiscite in Bow Island shows overwhelming opposition to a provincial plan to reroute Highway 3 from the middle of the town to farmland several kilometres south.

The town’s council added the question to the ballot in this week’s municipal election and results show that 71% of voters oppose the plan while 29% were in favour.

The province is currently undertaking engineering and design work to twin the highway from Taber to Burdett (about 10 kilometres west of Bow Island).

That was announced last year, with an attached cost of $150 million, including bypasses of Grassy Lake and Taber, but as of this summer there was no firm timetable on when construction would begin.

A functional study done by ISL Engineering and Land Services for a future phase (from Burdett to Seven Persons) states an initial budget estimate of $170 million. That would build four-lane divided roadway (two lanes in either direction), and meet a highway standard of no stop lights and general right of way to east-west traffic at intersections.

“Routing through Bow Island itself would have fundamental and irrevocable impacts on the town, which is neither a realistic nor a desirable outcome,” it states.

“Routing (it) to the south of Bow Island offers the greatest flexibility.”

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