Hartley Road residents gathered on Feb. 6 to discuss promises from the Northern Silica Corp. to get their truck traffic off of the residential road that runs through the community.
New management has taken over the company, and they guarantee residents will see a change on Hartley Rd.
President and CEO Reid MacDonald said Northern Silica is only one permit away from building the alternate public access road that will cost around $6 to 7 million.
The proposed new road runs through a woodlot that would first have to be logged. Northern Silica is in conversation with Transport Canada to join the road with Highway 1 in a manner that will not disrupt traffic flow, and allow the haul trucks to safely enter onto the highway and get up to the proper speed.
Currently, Northern Silica anticipates producing 300,000 tonnes of silica, but they would like to increase the operations, which would require a new road.
“We’re very confident in the future of this business,” explained former minister of mines and current Northern Silica non-executive director Bill Bennett. “Part of that expansion decision is to build a new road. That is our commitment.”
Residents of Hartley Rd. have become increasingly annoyed with the amount of industrial traffic on their only road to and from the highway.
“Homes that are 20 metres from that road are being bathed in dust,” resident Murray Toft said at the meeting on Feb. 6 that was held at the Senior’s Centre.
Trucks have been running on the residential road for 12 hours a day, five days a week, while the plant is in operation. Often, residents have said, this means they are running in the dark, causing stress for residents who are going to and from work in the winter months before the sun comes up.
“The truck are going by every three and a half to four minutes every day. My wife goes to work pretty early, at 5:45 a.m., it is dark in October, and we have had quite a few close calls,” explained resident Kyle Chartrand. “[The truckers] are doing a very good job. The trucks are there, but the roads aren’t built for them. You can’t put this much pressure on this small road system, in this small community, without having an issue.”
Along with close vehicle encounters, residents would like Northern Silica to be aware of other times it may not be appropriate for trucks to be driving through the area.
“The times that children are walking on the road really needs to be taken into consideration,” Kristine Divall said.
The road permit allows for the truck to haul 400,000 tonnes of silica annually, and Northern Silica plans to increase their production by that much and more. The decision to expand operations could come as early as fall, Bennett explained,
“We think that within a few years, you will see twice as many jobs, you will see and alternate haul road,” he said. “We are not going to increase production on the current road. That’s guaranteed.”
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has been engaged with the issue, and is working with the company, MLA Doug Clovechok said.
“We want these trucks off the road. This is a huge public safety issue. To get these trucks off of that road is to protect public safety,” he said. “[MOTI] wants a solution to this as much as everyone else. What I’ve heard here tonight is very encouraging.”
