The Editor,
After attending the July 14, 2011 meeting about the heavy truck bypass in Estevan I have several comments. At that meeting, everyone in the crowd was encouraged to forward their comments to the government website. So I have done that as well. We shall see if the public voice will be listened to.
One would assume the lifespan of a project of this magnitude is 50 years or more, so taking the time to build it right the first time is imperative. The option with an overpass to cross over Highway 39 and the CP rail lines, in the consensus of those attending this meeting, is the only option to consider. This was expressed by the Reeve of Estevan RM and most of Estevan City council. There is no reason that a compromised design should even be considered, only to eventually be torn down and replaced a few short years from now (that's what they told us). That makes no sense what so ever and many questioned that idea.
Pretty much everyone in the room was surprised to learn that the overpass option on the west end was not even going to be presented during this public meeting. Needless to say the two options presented by Mr. Duff from AECOM engineering, were criticized by just about everyone in the room. There needs to be at least one section of this bypass route that has some continuous flow. Not a bunch of intersections on the outskirts of the city.
Others at the meeting felt that the Highway 47 intersection was also going to be a huge safety concern because the design calls for a level intersection (meaning stop lights or signs). I too feel that that is an archaic design. Many pointed to the tragic events that have occurred at the junction of Highway 361 and Highway 47 - the Lampman corner. Why would you duplicate something like that?
I feel that the engineering firm has made three compromises at each highway intersection in their design and the west section needs to be made for continuous traffic flow. The West bypass route needs to have an overpass because of safety concerns at the highway junction as well as the rail crossing. Estevan also does not want to lose the Richardson grain terminal. Their representative made it quite clear the lifespan of that facility also hinges on the correct decision to be made.
It was asked how many design compromises were made in the access to the new Global Transportation Hub (GTH) being built west of Regina. No straight answer was given so I assume ... none. I asked why is Estevan being told to accept a design compromise. They said it will increase the cost by $30 million. It was pointed out that those numbers are incorrect. I also pointed out that if they build the truck route correctly there should be an increased amount of truck traffic due to the link between 24-hour port at North Portal and the GTH.
I also want to point out that there were several seniors in attendance that were not able to hear the questions and comments being discussed because there was no sound system being used. One gentleman voiced his displeasure with this and said I might as well go home. And he left the room. That was rather embarrassing to everyone. In the future, please be prepared to hold a public forum so that questions and comments can be heard.
Since the desire for this truck route bypass has been around since the mid 80s, the time to build is now. We want the authorities to make the right choice based on the public's consensus and start building it now. Things certainly don't get cheaper. Too much time has been wasted already and if we don't get going, all the repaving Estevan has done within the city will be ruined.
David Mack
Estevan, Sask.
