"Chip seal." The two words spread fear through the hearts of motorists as quickly as tiny, flying rocks spread cracks across windshields.
The road construction project, courtesy of the Alberta Transportation road maintenance schedule, is circling many communities across the province, including the Lac La Biche region in northeastern Alberta this summer. In recent weeks, a 20 kilometre stretch along Highway 881 into the Owl River area and towards the Fort McMurray connector has seen the road surface upgrade increase the lifespan of the busy commuter highway — but also increase the amount of frustrations for area drivers. This week, more chip-sealing projects are taking place around the community, including along Lakeland Drive east of the Lac La Biche hamlet and a 40 kilometre stretch along Highway 36.
The idea behind the process is to build up the top layer of the well-driven road surfaces with a layer of oil and small rock chips. The sticky compound fills-in cracks and holes that form from the freeze-thaw conditions of the northeast and the steady roll of traffic.
While the result is a little more protection for the road surfaces, for many motorists, the drive to that end result can be a regular pain in the glass.
The last two days — I’m getting at least two or three really good cracks," said one local commuter, a professional driver, who travels back and forth from Lac La Biche to the Imperial Mills area at least once a day. "But I don’t dare change my glass till end of month now. I’d be wasting my money."
That driver says speed control and enforcement from the construction crews is lacking, which allows motorists who ignore the speed signs and oncoming traffic to spray a cloud of rocks and debris as they speed along. In his regular travels, he hears from a lot of other motorists who feel the same way about the rock spray.
"There’s been a lot of complaints from other people getting their windshields all cracked up," he told LakelandToday.
Slow down, make room
Lac La Biche County's manager of Enforcement Services Chris Clark said his peace officers have also been hearing the complaints
"We have been in the area conducting proactive patrols and doing enforcement when needed," said Clark, adding that a few tickets have been handed out to motorists ignoring the reduced speed zones in the construction areas. "In terms of violations we haven’t seen that many in this construction zone but have issued some tickets."
The veteran police officer, says that since police can't be in all areas at once, there are some particular driving habits that all motorists should remember when it comes to this particular kind of construction issue.
"As for reducing the risk of vehicle damage, motorists need to make sure they are following the posted speed limit. Also motorists need to keep a large distance between themselves and the vehicle in front of them to reduce rock chips," he said.
Chip-seal projects can be expected to be in progress on provincial roads for the rest of the summer construction season.
Motorists experiencing issues with construction areas can contact their local municipalities. In the Lac La Biche region complaints from motorists on area roads can be addressed through the RCMP complaint line, or the Lac La Biche County Enforcement Services dispatch at 780-623-6767.
