Woodlands County Council has approved $250,000 in funding to begin to process for repairs to Cutbanks Road and Old Ferry Road.
Due to the flooding in 2023, about a 300m section of Cutbanks Roadway and a 350m section of Old Ferry Roadway have been washed out, affecting the slope of the McLeod River. Officials say these repairs have been identified in the Disaster Recovery Program through the Government of Alberta which could provide up to $1.63 Million in funding to restore Cutbanks Road to a pre-disaster state, and $2.4 Million in funding to restore the Old Ferry Road to a pre-disaster state. This funding would be provided as a reimbursement from the province once the work is completed.
Town officials say experts were brought in to assess the damages and develop unique plans for both roads.
It was recommended that Cutbanks Road be replaced with a new road. Experts say the capital cost of a new road would be $1.3 Million dollars with no annual maintenance costs, and should have a life span of more than 50 years.
For Old Ferry Road, experts recommended realigning the road while minimizing major property impacts. They say the capital cost would be $3.0 Million with no annual maintenance costs, and should also have a life span of more than 50 years.
Woodlands County council approved a motion to accept these recommendations and begin moving forward with the next steps.
Council also authorized the spending of $100,000 for pre-tender engineering services for Cutbanks Road and $150,000 for post-tender engineering services for Old Ferry Road.
Council’s next step in this process will be to select a design consultant with construction expected to begin sometime in 2025.
