The Town of Altona is remedying a vulnerability that was exposed in May 2022 when flood waters threatened to breach its western perimeter.
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As we speak, crews are raising a section of 9th St. NW, from 10th Ave NW to Lynwood Bay.
Sitting about 36 inches lower than the concrete half of the road from 10th Ave. NW heading south, this particular area is where a Tiger Dam had to be erected in an attempt to keep as much overland flooding away from the community.
In order to raise the road, first it needs to be narrowed, explained Public Works Manager Clint Derksen.
"Since being built, it's kind of sluffed away a little bit...the base was up to 40 feet already. We're going to fix that. There's no need for a 40-foot road when it's still only two lanes. So, this will be between 25 and 30 feet wide once we're done and, I'm not sure how much budget will allow, if we'll be able to get to the full level that we want it to be, but it'll be a couple of feet higher, for sure."
The Town has teamed up with the experienced grader operators from the neighbouring Municipality of Rhineland to do the work.
"They scraped some material out of the ditch, which had pretty good gravel content in it, and they brought that onto the road," outlined Derksen. "They've tilled that up and spread it out. They're packing it and making smoother. We'll be getting shale hauled on to it and the graders will level and pack it."
This, with a thin layer of road gravel on top, is a strategy that's worked well for the Municipality of Rhineland, added Derksen.
A priority issue
Additionally, the road could undergo further flood mitigation work should the Town's application to the province's Manitoba GRO program be successful.
Mayor Harv Schroeder said in a statement submitted to PembinaValleyOnline that fixing this issue is a priority for Council.
"Since the application process will take some time, we wanted to find an immediate way to address some of these issues. Thanks to the Public Works Department’s effective budgeting, we are working with the RM of Rhineland to raise the sides of the road using existing materials. By doing this, we hope to reduce the risk of significant flooding while we work towards a more substantial flood mitigation project.”
The road is currently closed to traffic and a detour is in effect. It is expected to re-open by the end of the week.
