Misty Ridge Area Residents Benefit From Naples Road Cancellation

BARRHEAD – Residents of the Misty Ridge area are the latest beneficiaries of Barrhead County’s failure to complete land deals needed for the Naples Road reconstruction project.

On July 2, councillors authorized the municipality to enter into agreements with several landowners to obtain compensation for crop damage, landscaping and borrow pits, as well as fence replacement related to the reconstruction of approximately 3.2 kilometres of Township Road 622 from the corner of the ski hill.

The project’s completion cost is estimated at approximately $455,000.

Public Works Director Travis Wierenga said the road had been on the municipality’s radar for some time and was already on the municipality’s road replacement schedule for 2024 to 2026.

“The road is terrible there, it’s cracked and there’s been a lot of other funny things that have happened to it in the past,” he said, adding that staff were pleased to have been able to reach the agreements necessary to make the project happen.

Wierenga said the compensation paid to landowners is in line with the standard rate set by the council: $300 per acre for crop damage and $500 and $1,000 per acre for landscape and borrow areas, respectively.

He added that the municipality provides the posts and labor for the fence replacement, while the landowner provides the labor.

“We should have decent land for work,” Wierenga said.

He added that the vast majority of landowners in the area were cooperative and had been able to reach the necessary agreements quickly; only one was reluctant.

“A landowner on this project has been pretty uncooperative. We have 5.2 metres of road widening to do, and we should have room to work around the area without any problems, but we’ve made an effort,” he said.

Wierenga said he hopes to come to council soon with the final plan to replace the cancelled Naples Road project.

He also said he hoped work on the project would begin soon as they hope to complete it before the end of the harvest.

“We’re a little behind schedule after having to rearrange the construction schedule (due to the cancellation of the Naples Road project),” Wierenga said. “There’s a little bit of a delay because Telus needs to put in a temporary line, which they’re hoping to do in July, because we don’t want to block access to the road during harvest.”

In late March, councilors asked public works staff to identify potential road reconstruction projects to replace about five miles of Range Road 25, from Highway 18 to Township Road 605, with a high-quality gravel road.

In early May, councilors also approved the county entering into a similar agreement with several landowners for crop damage, landscaping and borrow pits, as well as fence replacement related to the reconstruction of about two miles, or 3.2 kilometers, of Range Road 50 north of Township Road 580 and south of Highway 654.

A borrow pit, also called a sand pit, is an area where materials (usually dirt, gravel or sand) are dug up for use at another location. The municipality makes agreements with neighboring landowners on these projects because it is more efficient and cost-effective to use materials in the immediate vicinity than to incur additional transportation costs.

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com