Hwy 97 lane expansion

[Grandan]

I don't know if there is a thread already on this topic-sorry in advance if there is.

Is my memory that bad or am I right in that the road widening from Hwy 33 to Sexsmith is going into its third year? or second year? My point is...how long can a project so small, be dragged out for so long?

I think you are right, third season.
What you see on the surface is only the tip of the iceberg. There was no underground utilities to speak of and that had to be done. What they did run into had to be replaced due to age or poor condition, do you want the highway to be dug up in the next few years to disrupt traffic? There was no street lights. The new lanes were added with several metres of gravel in some places. Side streets also had to be realigned and rebuilt and it all had to be done at night.
I watched the same thing happen in Calgary with their 16th Ave expansion, it dragged on for years.

[bcrichard38]

I just wonder when they will get around to restoring the 97 north and south bus stops by McCurdy Rd, they finished the third lane paving in that area last Fall, but still no stops.

[GordonH]

Here is 1 of the other threads
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=66510&hilit=hwy+97+6+laning

[dsldriver]

I just wonder when they will get around to restoring the 97 north and south bus stops by McCurdy Rd, they finished the third lane paving in that area last Fall, but still no stops.

They are finally open again.

[Glacier]

I have a theory about highway design. All highways should be designed from day 1 to include 100m of green space on either side of center-line at a minimum. The green space can either be used between the lanes or on the outsides, but it should be there for several reasons:
1) It would save billions in the future when roadways need to be expanded.
2) It will save billions in health care costs because schools, children, and others won't be exposed to dangerous air pollution levels that accompany close proximity to major highways.
3) It will save billions in snow removal as snow can be dumped into the green space.
4) It will save billions in environmental degradation by allowing salt, oil, and other pollutants to be collected and filtered naturally by the sand beside the roadways instead of being drained directly into the creeks.
5) It will save billions in other costs that I can't even think of right now, but since you need five points to make an effective argument, I have to add this one anyway.

[spooker]

1) It would save billions in the future when roadways need to be expanded.

I agree, we need to make sure we can have highways as big as they have in LA ... with as much congestion

2) It will save billions in health care costs because schools, children, and others won't be exposed to dangerous air pollution levels that accompany close proximity to major highways.

We're in a valley, v-a-l-l-e-y, pollution collects at the bottom and causes health issues ... the best solution is to not generate the pollutants in the first place ...

3) It will save billions in snow removal as snow can be dumped into the green space.

This one I agree with ...

4) It will save billions in environmental degradation by allowing salt, oil, and other pollutants to be collected and filtered naturally by the sand beside the roadways instead of being drained directly into the creeks.

With all of that going into the green space the savings would be offset by the maintenance costs to upkeep the dying and dead plant life ...

5) It will save billions in other costs that I can't even think of right now, but since you need five points to make an effective argument, I have to add this one anyway.

But what will it do for me personally? ... just because something will do some good in the future doesn't mean that I'll pay attention unless it affects my life right now ... </sarcasm>

[StraitTalk]

Did anyone bother to look into how long it was planned to take? Is less time necessarily better? To me that just sounds more expensive. I also almost never have to drive it.

[just popping in]

Started 2016. Anticipated completion date July 2018.....

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/tran ... edwards-rd

[the truth]

I don't know if there is a thread already on this topic-sorry in advance if there is.

Is my memory that bad or am I right in that the road widening from Hwy 33 to Sexsmith is going into its third year? or second year? My point is...how long can a project so small, be dragged out for so long?

]
could of been done a long time ago if they had more than 1 person working on the project seems like they are moving at a pace of 1 cm a day for the last 3 years

[christopher]

I don't know if there is a thread already on this topic-sorry in advance if there is.

Is my memory that bad or am I right in that the road widening from Hwy 33 to Sexsmith is going into its third year? or second year? My point is...how long can a project so small, be dragged out for so long?

most of the time when you see this its about money the city budgets so much each year .

Many road jobs today have a day charge in the contract this will be maybe 1500.00 a day for each day they are on the road.
The contractor tells the city how many days they will be working and if the get over the days they get 1500.00 a day deducted.
If they finish sooner they keep the money.
So if you say 100 days you add $150,000 to your price if you finish 10 days early you keep 15000 dollars.
If you get over the 100 days by 10 days the money will be deducted.

[Carrs Landing Viking]

I don't know if there is a thread already on this topic-sorry in advance if there is.

Is my memory that bad or am I right in that the road widening from Hwy 33 to Sexsmith is going into its third year? or second year? My point is...how long can a project so small, be dragged out for so long?

most of the time when you see this its about money the city budgets so much each year .

Many road jobs today have a day charge in the contract this will be maybe 1500.00 a day for each day they are on the road.
The contractor tells the city how many days they will be working and if the get over the days they get 1500.00 a day deducted.
If they finish sooner they keep the money.
So if you say 100 days you add $150,000 to your price if you finish 10 days early you keep 15000 dollars.
If you get over the 100 days by 10 days the money will be deducted.

This is a provincial highway, so the city of Kelowna doesn't have anything to do with the funding.

[Bsuds]

This is a provincial highway, so the city of Kelowna doesn't have anything to do with the funding.

Actually though small there is a cost to the city of .2 million

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/drivi ... losure.pdf

[dirtybiker]

Actually though small there is a cost to the city of .2 million

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/drivi ... losure.pdf

Could Ya lend me a "small" amount of money ?

[vinnied]

I have a theory about highway design. All highways should be designed from day 1 to include 100m of green space on either side of center-line at a minimum. The green space can either be used between the lanes or on the outsides, but it should be there for several reasons:
1) It would save billions in the future when roadways need to be expanded.
2) It will save billions in health care costs because schools, children, and others won't be exposed to dangerous air pollution levels that accompany close proximity to major highways.
3) It will save billions in snow removal as snow can be dumped into the green space.
4) It will save billions in environmental degradation by allowing salt, oil, and other pollutants to be collected and filtered naturally by the sand beside the roadways instead of being drained directly into the creeks.
5) It will save billions in other costs that I can't even think of right now, but since you need five points to make an effective argument, I have to add this one anyway.

5) it would give the Albertans a place to toss there butts without starting forest fires when heading home, saving billions in fire fighting costs.

[Grandan]

I have a theory about highway design. All highways should be designed from day 1 to include 100m of green space on either side of center-line at a minimum. The green space can either be used between the lanes or on the outsides, but it should be there for several reasons:
1) It would save billions in the future when roadways need to be expanded.
2) It will save billions in health care costs because schools, children, and others won't be exposed to dangerous air pollution levels that accompany close proximity to major highways.
3) It will save billions in snow removal as snow can be dumped into the green space.
4) It will save billions in environmental degradation by allowing salt, oil, and other pollutants to be collected and filtered naturally by the sand beside the roadways instead of being drained directly into the creeks.
5) It will save billions in other costs that I can't even think of right now, but since you need five points to make an effective argument, I have to add this one anyway.

Sure, we are just going to jump in our time machine and go back 100 years. Most of our provincial highways were built on wagon roads trough the bush with people snapping up the land for ranch land and so on. Some of our highways are built in valleys so narrow there would be no room for anything but the highway. Maintaining a 200 m right of way is a significant cost, trees continue to self seed and grow in the open land beside highways.
You want to place schools beside a major highway? I don't think so, they are generally located near where people live within the community.
You think drainage runs directly into nearby streams? Most highway drainage is intercepted in settlement ponds or soak away areas so that drainage does not flow directly into streams.
A system of wide rights of way works well on the bald prairie where natural grasses proliferate. Cutting a road through forested areas on steep hillsides requires significant remediation to contain runoff from those steep hillsides.
I think that continued education to compel smokers to keep their smoking material within their cars is a great start rather than spend billions to ensure that roadside vegetation is kept cleared beyond the flick range of butts.