The Province of Alberta is investing more than a million dollars in infrastructure in Woodlands County.
On Nov. 10, the Province announced they had awarded $1,069,483 to Woodlands County through the Municipality Sustainability Initiative (MSI).
The MSI funding is said to be earmarked for several projects in Woodlands County.
The County tells us that one of those projects was upgrading 1.89 km of West Mountain Road. The stretch of road extends north of Township Road 591 to Township Road 592.
Some of the work carried out on West Mountain Road included cold milling and inlay of asphalt, restoration of slope sides, and culvert replacements.
The work on West Mountain Road was scheduled to be completed this November. The final cost of the project is estimated at $1.1 million, with $481,100 coming from the MSI funding, $604,914 from the Federal Gas Tax Fund, and the remainder from the County.
MSI funding has also been earmarked for storm water infrastructure rehabilitation and replacement.
The County explains that this is a variety of projects throughout Woodlands County, and mainly consists of culvert replacements and re-establishing ditch profiles.
The largest of these projects was Township Road 593A, also known as Stratton Avenue. The ditches were re-established and five culverts were replaced. The Stratton Avenue project was completed in Sept. 2021.
The County is using $537,000 of the MSI funding for these projects, and work will continue on them into the New Year.
In a statement, Martin Long, MLA for West Yellowhead, thanks the Province for the funding.
“This is a great investment into the future of the region, and I am looking forward to the completion of these projects,” says Long.
John Burrows, mayor of Woodlands County, is also grateful.
“MSI grant funds play an important role in keeping our road and utility infrastructure in good condition,” says Burrows. “We understand that municipalities will be receiving less funding from this program in the next two years, and we are making the most of it by extending the longevity of critical infrastructure.”
