The condition of the road from Battleford to the Battlefords District Care Centre has come up yet again at a Battleford town council meeting.
Monday, councillors received a letter complaining about the condition of the road from a resident who lives at the end of it.
The road in question is Central Avenue, which extends past Fort Battleford to the District Care Centre. It's this last portion that is most complained about.
A letter from Andrea Jackson said, while the repairs that have been repeatedly made are appreciated, they are not holding up to traffic.
"To prevent this infrastructure from falling behind repair, regular and proper maintenance is essential," she wrote.
She also suggested changing the speed limit from 60 km/h to 50 km/h.
She added that Campbell Innes Way, formerly 10th Street, is also becoming unfit to drive on.
What to do about the road to the care centre was referred to the budget process by councillors late last year after receiving a letter from the residents council of the Battlefords District Care Centre.
Shortly afterward, the road came up again at a council meeting, with Councillor David George saying his understanding from "asphalt people" that the base of the road was excellent and that cutting out the bad spots and deep-patching them would solve the problems.
George reiterated his case Monday. It could cost $15,000 to do those repairs compared with $300,000 or more to resurface it, the councillor indicated.
"That's a fair chunk of change," Mayor Derek Mahon admitted. He pointed out the Town's engineers, Catterall and Wright, were due to visit Battleford this week to consult on a number of issues, and that they could weigh in on Central Avenue as well.
"I took a drive down there today, and there definitely are some spots," said the mayor. He said there are some areas where the road has been pounded out on the sides.
He noted, however, that from Fort Battleford and the Eiling Kramer Campground area back into town the road was in good shape.
Last year, he noted, some work was done in front of St. Vital Church on Central Avenue and some repairs were also done on Campbell Innes Way.
Recycled asphalt from the Highway 4 rebuild was used on Campbell Innes Way and that has stood up pretty well for the first few years, said Mahon, but it does have some areas needing repair.
Recently appointed Chief Administrative Officer John Enns-Wind also took a drive along Central Avenue, said the mayor, to see the situation through "new eyes" to the community.
Enns-Wind said, "There were a couple of spots, but I anticipated something much, much worse."
He added that part of the road to the care centre does not belong to Battleford. He said the town has stopped maintaining the area that is actually the responsibility of Prairie North Health Region.
