By KEVIN BERGER, Local Journalism Initiative
RM of Corman Park councillors voted unanimously to pass a motion during their August 18 meeting to have administration prepare a report with options for upgrading the municipality’s portion of Range Road 3051 near the City of Warman.
The motion was brought forward by Division 6 Councillor Steven Balzer, who noted that SB-90 has been applied to the portion of Range Road 3051 that extends from the edge of Warman to Township Road 385, but not the southern half of the road owned by the RM.
According to information available online, SB-90 is a high-asphalt, non-emulsified, cold-mix, maintainable road oil. Director of Infrastructure & Public Works Hayder Lateef said it is similar to a chip seal but doesn’t require substantial upgrades, adding that it looks like asphalt but is “a lot softer” and it helps with dust control.
Balzer pointed out that Range Road 3051 is a “highly travelled section of road,” with Lateef adding that more than 500 vehicles travel that roadway each day according to a traffic count.
Thus, Balzer asked council to support charging administration to investigate the cost of applying SB-90 to the road, though he did not rule out other options for an upgrade.
“Those ratepayers (travelling the road) certainly would be happy with any improvement,” he said.
Division 4 Councillor David Greenwood commented that he wasn’t sure about the use of SB-90, noting that it doesn’t hold up as well as one would like, and perhaps a chip seal would be better.
Division 8 Councillor Wendy Trask said she supported Balzer’s motion but wondered if the city could be approached about cost-sharing. Administration indicated they weren’t sure if such an arrangement had been made in the past.
Finally, Division 5 Councillor Arthur Pruim pointed out that less than a mile to the west, a new regional node will potentially host the new Warman-Martensville high school, so that needs to be kept in mind.
Reeve Joe Hargrave concluded the discussion by suggesting they get a report back that presents a range of alternatives.
The blue and red portions of this graphic show the parts of Range Road 3051 that has been upgraded with SB-90 and the part that has not.