Cypress County briefs: council looks for update on Highway 3 twinning
By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on October 4, 2024.
asmith@medicinehatnews.com Cypress County held the first of their bi-monthly council meetings on Oct. 1 as they start to tackle what matters most to ratepayers for the fall. Council made a motion to reach out to Alberta Transportation, in hopes of receiving an update in regards to the Highway 3 Twinning route following feedback from the two open houses conducted in Medicine Hat and Seven persons. A speed reduction was requested for a section of Range Road 74. As the trail was recently upgraded to a developed road, there is some concern that increased traffic may result in more risk. It was noted the area does have reduced visibility due, and is used by pedestrians as well as connected to several acreage approaches. Two main roads have already been reduced to 50 km/hr which are adjacent to the main road. Administration was directed to return with a bylaw to reduce the speed at a future meeting. A motion was passed to apply for a pair of grants, in order to create an Investment Attraction Strategy. The Northern and Regional Economic Development Grant and the CanExport Grant would both be worth $30,000. Another grant will be applied for, in order to help fund the planned 2025 Seven Persons Force main Project. The project includes replacing the end-of-life force main that handles sewages from the hamlet to the sewage lagoon. It would also include minor upgrades to the truck fill station as well as well modifications to the sewage lift station. Design and Engineering was tendered out this year to be ready for 2025, to be ready for grant approval. As such, a motion was passed to apply for the Alberta Municipal Water/Wastewater Partnership Grant, which if accepted would cover 75% of the project cost. If they do not receive the funding, the project will proceed as planned. 11-10
I can’t help but be opposed to this project. This is just obvious pork barreling of Dani’s constituents. I drive highway 3 everyday into the Hat and it’s just not that busy. Nor is it gearing up to be, with the Hat growing at a snails pace as always. Hundreds of millions of dollars that could be spent on hospitals, schools, or here’s a thought. If we’re looking to burn money on infrastructure projects, a proper interchange for highway 1 & 3 would be way more beneficial. Leaving plenty of money left over for a dozen new passing lanes between Taber and the Hat.
I’d also like to point out the irony that Dani has slammed the door on renewable energy projects because of land use. Cancellations which negatively affects the local economy to the tune of millions. But this project will use more than 1000 acres of farmland, much of it undoubtedly class 2 and irrigated. And will increase emissions with the project itself plus the higher speeds increasing fuel consumption. But if they did passing lanes instead, the project would use no extra land, cost a fraction, be done within a year instead of likely 5-10 years, and alleviate most of the frustration of occasionally slow traffic on highway 3. One last point, for those of us that use highway 3 regularly are going to face more slow downs during this construction than we would in 10 years with the current situation.
For a government who claims to be fiscally conservative, this project is the polar opposite.