The Alberta government is allocating $15 million for maintenance on Highway 63, promising accelerated pothole repairs and new paving projects after residents spent months raising concerns about dangerous road conditions on the province’s main route to Fort McMurray.
Funding announcement and scope
The funding was announced July 5 as part of an additional $22.4 million for provincial highway maintenance. Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen said $15 million of that funding will go directly toward Highway 63.
“Our government is adding more than $22.4 million to the provincial highway maintenance budget to do more patch paving and pothole repairs…of which $15 million will be directly allocated to Highway 63 maintenance,” Dreeshen said.
Highway 63 stretches nearly 500 kilometres and serves as the primary transportation corridor connecting Fort McMurray with the rest of northern Alberta and Edmonton.
Advocacy and contractor commitments
Dreeshen said advocacy from Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo MLA Tany Yao and Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche MLA Brian Jean helped secure additional work from maintenance contractor Emcon Services, including providing “a daily schedule of upcoming work and a list of completed projects” along the highway.
The minister also announced that the province is expediting a contract to repave 48 kilometres of the southbound lanes toward Wandering River, along with another paving contract covering 30 kilometres on highways 63 and 881.
Resident experiences and frustration
For many residents, however, the announcement comes after years of deteriorating road conditions. Tammy Stark, who has lived in Fort McMurray since 1998, said Highway 63 has become noticeably worse over the past four to five years. Stark said they recently struck what they described as “an unavoidable pothole” near the Highway 881 turnoff, blowing out a front passenger-side tire while travelling at highway speed.
“I consider my girlfriend and I very lucky as we were doing highway speed 115km/hr when the tire blew. The truck could have rolled,” Stark said. The damage ultimately forced the family to replace all four tires. “Thankfully we had another 4 tires to switch them out with, but now we have to buy 4 new tires [which is] approximately $4000, because you can’t replace just one tire.”
Byron Cox, a pipefitter and quality control inspector who has lived in Fort McMurray for 26 years, also said the highway’s condition has reached an unacceptable level. Cox said he spent 22 hours stranded on Highway 63 during an April snowstorm, costing him a day’s wages. “The government is painful,” Cox said. He also described his frustration after attempting to pursue compensation for vehicle damage.
