LAC LA BICHE - One of several construction zones within the hamlet of Lac La Biche will eventually improve a busy intersection near the community’s Bold Center and open up a piece of prime commercial real-estate for developers.
Construction to improve the Beaver Hill Road intersection at 91 Avenue, and access to a 12-acre parcel of municipal land that has had a $2.1 million facelift to make it ready for potential investors, is anticipated to be wrapped up by August.
Ali Memon, the manager of Engineering Services with Lac La Biche County Infrastructure Services says the most recent upgrades to the parcel of land have been on a two-month completion schedule.
“Construction was started on June 22 and it is expected to be completed around the second week of August,” he told Lakeland This Week, adding that an access road from Beaver Hill Road into the property will likely be opened by the end of July.
According to Memon, a considerable amount of work has been done on the project, which over the past month has caused delays for drivers, with traffic sometimes confined to one lane. The work on the 12-acre parcel has included the installation of storm sewer for future service connections. Earlier work included substantial earthworks, removing hills of dirt from the property and levelling out the ground for development. Memon says that base and sub-base materials have also been completed on the access road, and paving is expected to begin over the next week.
“A concrete walkway has also been installed,” he said, listing a few more piece of the upgrades. “The curb and gutters are being installed.”
Land for sale
Work started on the property two years ago. At the same time, there were indications that a portion of the land – about an acre in the southwest corner – was part of a possible land sale to a private developer for a restaurant franchise.
Lac La Biche County’s communication manager Jihad Moghrabi isn’t able to comment on private land discussions that may be happening but said that a parcel of land was recently subdivided from the overall municipal 12-acre parcel.
“This is viewable on the Provincial Spin2 site, which any member of the public can access,” he said.
The parcel of land was part of a specific land bylaw approved by Lac La Biche County councillors earlier this year, allowing for the sale of municipal property to be made for less than the market value.
What’s next?
When asked if this project will involve moving existing overhead power lines to an underground service in the same area, Moghrabi clarified that that is a separate project, one with a budget of an additional $733,000.
Funds for the construction work around the intersection and on the parcel of land were included in the municipality’s 2024 budget.
The development upgrades at 91 avenue and Beaver Hill Road are part of an extensive construction schedule in the Lac La Biche community. Work currently taking place within the hamlet, including the Main Street project, a new aquatic centre, water and sewer utility upgrades and the McArthur Park upgrades have an overall projected capital spending budget of about $100 million.
