Concerns continue over Sully Avenue

There are long standing issues with Sully Avenue, and Council decided Monday at its regular meeting to close the road to through traffic and be restricted to local traffic only.

In a report distributed to Council it noted that heavy traffic on the road between Highways 16 and 52 has been in place, but that heavy traffic remains an issue. Heavy traffic are those in excess of 9000 kilograms.

"Signage prohibiting heavy vehicle traffic has proven to be futile in preventing misuse. It is virtually impossible to prevent abuse at this location without continuous RCMP enforcement. To prevent further damage to the road, Sully Avenue was closed by the City in the fall of 2011," detailed the report.

Trent Mandzuk, Director of Public Works with the City told Council an upgrade to the road would be costly.

Recent estimates to upgrade the roadway, which includes a widened subgrade, granular substructure and an asphalt paved surface, were approximately 1.5 million dollars, he noted.

Mandzuk added it was unlikely the province would provide dollars for the project.

"With the new development of the Hwy #52 to # 16 bypass west of Sully, it is unreasonable to look to the Ministry as a source of funding," he said.

At the same time there are concerns from residents along the Avenue.

"In 2007, Council approved cutbacks to the City's dust control program as a measure to decrease operating costs," he said. " Over the past three years, the average cost to dust control, gravel and blading services for this section of Sully Avenue is $20,000/year."

Mandzuk said an option not previously considered were overhead height restriction bridges.

"These overhead bridges would be similar to the structures currently in place at the Parkland Mall," he said.

The overhead bridges would allow light vehicle traffic with a height less than 10'6" to travel the roadway while restricting heavy truck and agricultural equipment.

However the Department of Highways recommended that if this option was favoured, formal legal counsel be sought to accurately determine liability associated with such a structure, as it intentionally obstructs the pathway of certain motor vehicles.

However Council chose to continue having the road closed to through traffic. Councillor Larry Pearen was opposed.