The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure will continue to address the priorities identified by local residents over the last couple of years to make Colleymount Road safer.
The ministry is planning a series of upgrades this summer including a hydro poll relocation at 31 km, a corner improvement at 46 km, signage improvements, grading, seal coat patching, mowing, brushing and dust control.
Eileen Benedict, Director of Electoral Area E (Francois/Ootsa Lake Rural), said the top priority for the community is the corner improvement at 46 km, where the ministry already has easements through properties. While the ministry plans to widen that corner, Benedict questions if that would be the best approach.
“The question is whether this is the best use of money in addressing the safety issue when you have the easement to straighten these sharp corners,” said Benedict. “I understand that it would cost a lot more to do a permanent fix, but could this be done in stages, and in the end have a road that is easier to maintain and much safer than a quick fix.”
The Ministry of Transportation committed to start addressing critical areas of Colleymount Road last summer after a local petition netted almost 1000 signatures and hundreds of letters were sent by local residents.
Although Colleymount Road residents are pleased to see some improvements on the road, Benedict says it’s not enough to address the road’s structural problems.
“It’s great that there has been so much progress out there [at Colleymount Road], but we don’t want to see it stop at that,” said Benedict. “Now we need to go to the next step because as a community we want to see a plan.”
According to residents, Colleymount Road – which extends from Francois Lake’s ferry landing to km 54 – has had a significant increase of commercial and non-commercial traffic over the years and presents safety issues such as narrow, blind corners and sloughing on both road portions and embankments.
The Ministry of Transportation chaired a meeting with Colleymount residents on June 2, 2017. The meeting also included representatives from Lakes District Maintenance, Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement, the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, and local industry.
Colleymount residents will hold another meeting this fall to revisit their priorities so that talks with the ministry can continue. The ministry will be conducting traffic counts on Colleymount Road this year to help guide their future decisions.
