The Town of Battleford discussed the use of Grid Rd 656 during the construction work on Battle River Bridge at its meeting Monday. (file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

In the chambers

Town looks at grid road access during construction work

May 8, 2019 | 1:53 PM

The Town of Battleford discussed access to Grid Road 656 while construction work is underway on the Battle River Bridge at its recent meeting.

Council agreed to allow farming equipment to use the road for a limited time only, as long as a number of provisions were met. No equipment would be allowed on the road unless the road is first closed to other traffic. Farmers would also need to contact the town in advance to discuss their plans.

CAO John Enns-Wind raised the issue in his report, saying that as a result of the current construction work on the Battle River Bridge on Highway 4, south of Battleford, farmers are facing challenges accessing their fields.

The R.M. of Battle River lifted its weight restriction on Grid Road 658 to accommodate the farmers, but also asked the town to allow overweight machinery for the rest of the path, on what is known as Grid Road 656, so farmers can move their machinery to their fields while the work is underway.

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While the town paved Grid Road 656 in 2016 to make it safer, the road capacity wasn’t upgraded to carry more than 10 tonnes. As a result, overweight trucks and machinery are not currently allowed.

Enns-Wind said farmers need to be able to access their fields however. As well, the town and RCMP don’t have the resources to monitor and enforce a weight ban on the road, adding to the complication.

He recommended lifting the weight ban on Grid Road 656 as long as the R.M. of Battle River completes an assessment of the road condition this week at its own expense, using the town’s consulting engineer and public works manager. The R.M. is required to provide a list of overweight vehicles that will use the road and must repair the road if a condition assessment identifies any deficiencies.

Mayor Ames Leslie was initially opposed to the proposal since the road isn’t rated for heavy machinery, such as a tractor or seeding equipment. He was also concerned about the safety issue as the road doesn’t have a shoulder as an escape route, and has a blind spot.

“I don’t want one of our residents in a precarious position because of machinery coming down the road,” Leslie said.

To take into account the mayor’s concerns, the CAO added the provision that farmers must notify the town in advance to make arrangements to transport their heavy machinery on the road which would temporarily close. A fee to the farmer would also be applicable since the town’s public safety officer would need to be involved in the process.

“The public safety officer will sign off to make sure people have appropriate equipment to make sure the commute is safe,” Leslie said.

The CAO noted the conditional temporary lift of the weight ban on the road until the bridge construction is complete will be a one-time only situation, and will not set precedence.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow