Open house sometime in June for extensive Main Street Bonnyville construction details: Brosseau

Town of Bonnyville brass have been notified about the province’s intention to host an open house in June for the anticipated major construction on Main Street, according to Mayor Elisa Brosseau.

The Government of Alberta has committed to upgrades of up to 11 intersections along Main Street Bonnyville, technically Highway 28, which is under the province’s purview. But with aggressive timelines of doing all the work this summer, no exact details have become public yet.

“Their staff was in town a couple weeks ago and met with council. We looked at the entirety of the project and gave our feedback. And what they’ve told us coming out of that meeting is that there’s going to be a public open house,” said Brosseau on The Morning After. 

“What they’re looking at doing is getting feedback from residents to say, are we on the right track? Are we missing something? Are you seeing something that we don’t type of thing? But they have told us the money is earmarked, and they are doing the work this summer, and they feel confident that they’ll be able to get the entire project done this summer.” 

This entails upgrades from 55 Street (Players Lounge) to just before the Centennial Centre, where Highway 28 ends.

Whether that’s a designated turning lane, turning lights at intersections, road widening and levelling, is unclear. But the Town has specifically lobbied for smoother turning ability at the 50th Ave and 46 Street (Sobeys) intersection, especially after the death of a 78-year-old pedestrian last summer.

In December 2024, Brosseau said the Town got all their wishlist items for Main Street improvements.

“It’s just not conducive for the amount of traffic that we’re seeing now, and it’s not safe. If you recall, last year, there was a death at one of the intersections, so how can we mitigate those from happening again?” said Brosseau. 

Premier Danielle Smith’s visit for a third UCP fundraiser came and went earlier in May. The provincial government has been reticent on a long term commitment to Highway 28 in terms of the rural roadway, after committing $5 million to an engineering study in 2023.

No long-term capital dollars, nor official plans out of that study, have materialized out of Alberta’s Capital Budget forecast.

“I was discouraged to hear that she didn’t even mention it. She’s here in the town. That, to me, would have been a quick win, because that is a huge win for our town to get that done and to know that the province is paying for it,” said Brosseau. 

“We’re happy with what’s being done in the Town of Bonnyville, but the larger project is definitely makes us question whether it might happen or not, especially when they’re talking about building completely new highways way up north, and new economic corridors.” 

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