LAC LA BICHE - Lac La Biche County council has approved spending almost $200,000 on a report they hope will pave the way to more development along a significant stretch of the community's road network.
A green-light has been given for $199,000 in municipal funds to be spent on a management study that will look at opportunities, challenges and needed upgrades to what councillors are calling an "economic corridor" that runs around the Lac La Biche hamlet.The scope of the report will include three and a half kilometres of Highway 55 west of the Lac La Biche hamlet, four-and-a half kilometres of the 'Truck Route' that circles around the south side of the hamlet, and just over five kilometres of Highway 881 that intersects with Lakeland Drive at the "Corner Gas" property.
The Highway 55 and 881 Corridor Management Study will be compiled by county-hired consultants over the next several months to evaluate approximately 13 kilometres of highway that borders the community. The plan will look at current and needed utilities, intersection upgrades, maintenance issues ano other factors to improve and prepare the corridor for expected future economic development.
Several sections of the corridor fall under the control of the recently renamed provincial department of Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors, but municipal officials are responsible for intersection upgrades because they link to municipal roads and subdivisions.
"The County has a responsibility to ensure that intersections from provincial highways to local roads accessing developments meet with provincial government expectations," said the municipality's Associate CAO of Infrastructure Ron Fraser, explaining that costs associated with any or all of those expectations can come from developers looking to build in those locations as a condition of the development permit process.
Some of those imminent developments are believed to be on the horizon. In a presentation to Lac La Biche County councillors, Fraser described the study area as an "important economic corridor, ripe for development."
Without planning and upgrades to the roadways and the adjacent properties, he says that potential economic growth will be affected.
"The west end in particular is already reaching a limit from a capacity perspective to handle additional traffic, without improvements being made to intersection treatments. In other locations there is a gap in underground infrastructure. Whether it’s a road issue or underground utility constraints, these are factors limiting further economic development," he reported.
Development limits
Attention to the area was highlighted several months ago when it was learned that some major highway intersections near the Lac La Biche community had surpassed traffic safety levels set by Alberta Transportation, resulting in restrictions on further development until upgrades were made. One of those intersections was at Range Road 142 and Highway 55 west of the Lac La Biche hamlet.
The same intersection recently saw the construction and opening of a new gas station and convenience store. The business is owned by Lac La Biche County Mayor Paul Reutov. During development and permit questions about the property, it was learned that several intersections on area highways may also be subject to development restrictions by Alberta Transportation.
"This was brought before us on a previous council meeting and it was agreed by council members present at that time to defer it today's meeting," said Reutov at the April 4 Lac La Biche County Council meeting where he made the motion to approve the funding request.
According to the background of the request, upwards of 18 traffic intersections along the corridor — including railway crossings — will be part of the overview.
Lac La Biche County documents show that until a municipal bylaw created in 2001 was amended in 2017, land along the truck route portion of the road plan had a moratorium on any commercial development. The ban on development was put into place when the truck route was first built as an assurance to Lac La Biche's downtown business sector that new business wouldn't spread outside the town limits.
With the funding approved to create the new management plan, municipal administrators will be starting the tendering process to hire qualified consultants in the coming weeks. Public open houses on the progress of the report are expected to be held locally by the end of May. The final report is slated for September.
