LAC LA BICHE - A six-and-a-half kilometre stretch of a new walking path currently being built west of the Lac La Biche hamlet is the final link in a 23 kilometre trail system joining Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park to the Lac La Biche Mission historical site.
Ali Memon, Lac La Biche County’s general manager of infrastructure, said the project underway on July 25, and is anticipated to be wrapped up by Sept. 26. As of September 11, the project is said to be at 70 per cent of construction
Construction of the new walking trail, Memon explained, includes brush work in the ditch along the roadway, sub-grade construction and base paving.
Traffic speed restrictions along the construction route have been put in place, reducing speeds along the roadway from 80 km/hour to 50km/hour.
According to the municipality's current capital construction plan, the project has a budget of $1.6 million.
Last year, Lac La Biche County council approved the Mission Road walking trail project for construction. The engineering design and regulatory permitting for the extension of the walking and biking trail had been completed in 2022.
An overall trail system plan includes expanding the pathway from the Mission site further west another eight kilometres to link with the existing path from Plamondon – creating a 43 kilometre continuous trail from Plamondon to Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park.