A Turner Valley road notorious for potholes and rough surfaces finally got the facelift it needed.
Decalta Road from 16th Avenue to Main Street was reopened last week after construction crews repaved and repaired rough sections of the road. The road was beaten up by heavy equipment used to repair damage caused by the 2013 flooding of the Sheep River.
Construction began in August and although the road was expected to be ready for traffic by the end of September, Barry Williamson, the Turner Valley chief administrative officer, said the Town experienced some delays due to weather and was finally able to open it this month.
During the last two months, traffic on the residential road was often down to a single lane or rerouted while the road was being repaired, he said.
An asphalt pathway was also constructed along the road from Imperial Drive to Main Street. As there are no sidewalks along the length of the road, pedestrians would often walk along it into town and back.
Williamson said he had the opportunity to ride his bike along the pathway once it was ready and said it’s a much safer alternative for residents.
“It’s wonderful,” he said. “In some places the pathway has been moved off of the road and in other places it’s quite close. Down by the bridge it’s pretty narrow.”
The Town had planned to repave the road before the 2013 flood because it routinely needed repairs.
The Town of Turner Valley had received several complaints from residents about the condition of the road over the last two years, but it wasn’t able to begin repairs until erosion protection work on the bridge and surrounding river banks were complete, Williamson said.
Work to protect water wells and bridge supports in the Sheep River against future floods had been ongoing for two years.
During the last couple of weeks, construction crews did some patching work on Main Street where a culvert needed to be fixed and where the road was beaten up by trucks transporting large rocks to be used for erosion protection along the Sheep River.
The Province of Alberta’s Disaster Recovery Program and Flood Recovery Erosion Control program is covering two-thirds of the construction costs of the $900,000 project, Williamson said.
The speed limit on Decalta Road remains at 50 km/hr and passing is not permitted along the length of the road, said Williamson.
He added that like the Friendship Trail between Black Diamond and Turner Valley, the new pathway along Decalta Road will be maintained year round.
