County of Wetaskiwin council heard about the spring thaw during the regular report of Director of Public Works Neil Powell May 8.
The report was filed during the Public Works committee meeting.
Spring thaw
Powell stated April was a bit colder than usual, with a sudden thaw complicating things.
He said frozen culverts were an issue in the county; he said four crews worked on over 1,000 culverts in that time period.
The county also experienced some high water in April, but Powell noted the County of Wetaskiwin didn’t get hit by flooding as bad as some other nearby municipalities. He noted water covered roughly 10 roads in the county.
Speaking of water on roads, Powell noted the county road bans are still in effect. He pointed out that frost wells are still coming up on the gravel roads.
Tidying up
Councilor Josh Bishop asked Powell about clean-up after brushing is done alongside county roads.
Powell answered that a private contractor handles the trimming and cutting work, with county staff going in afterwards to clean up. The contractor doesn’t clean up because they’re paid by the hour and it’s more cost effective to focus the contractor on brushing work rather than clean up.
Highway #13
It was mentioned during the meeting that the county received a complaint about a certain section of Hwy #13 that is “rough.” Powell noted the county forwarded the complaint to the provincial government, which is responsible for primary highways.
Councilor Lyle Seely noted that Hwy #13 is on priority lists for work, but seems to keep getting bumped back.
New yield sign
Powell presented a report which included a request for a yield sign at the T-Intersection of Twp Rd 474 and Rge Rd 250. He noted crews on May 7 completed work at that intersection revising a speed curve that actually encroached on private land.
Councilor Bill Kraan asked if the road in question is busy. Councilor Terry Van de Kraats answered the road is getting busier than in the past.
Powell noted every part of the County of Wetaskiwin has intersections like this one.
Councilors approved placing a yield sign at the intersection in question.
