East Central Alberta Heritage Society

Unofficial word coming out of Canadian Badlands Ltd. is that the deadline for completing East Central Alberta Heritage Society’s two major projects, the Cando Construction Way rail reconstruction project to Red Willow and the development of five Natural Linear Parks, has been extended to the summer of 2011.

The funding for these projects, which comes from the Government of Canada’s Community Adjustment Fund under the Canada Action Plan, will end at March 31, 2011, but East Alberta Heritage Society will likely have until August 31 to complete work on its projects. Given that ECAHS expenditures on these projects already exceeds the funds

receivable from Canadian Badlands and that there are still reserve funds from other sources to compete the work, the new deadlines should not be a problem for ECAHS. This assumes of course that community donations and corporate funding from outside the community continue to come in as expected over the next six months.

Rail Reconstruction Project

Work on ECAHS Stettler-Red Willow rail reconstruction project made great progress from August to December 2010 when work was suspended due to extreme low temperatures and heavy snow.

During that period the entire rights of way was re-profiled and leveled, sub ballast replaced, and packed thanks in most part to the County of Stettler. Materials supplied by Cando Contracting out of Brandon, Manitoba, started arriving in September and distribution of ties, rail, tie plates, joint bars and other track materials started as soon as conditions permitted. Those materials are currently in place to within approximately one mile of Red Willow and ties have been laid out on the rights of way almost to Highway 601 north of Stettler. Rail has been bolted together and spiked in place, excluding road crossings, for approximately two miles north from Stettler.

There are approximately 10,000 cubic yards of ballast gravel currently stockpiled at Warden south of Stettler ready for distribution.

Best estimates are that the spiking crew will complete close to one mile of rail a week once work resumes in late April or early May. Road crossings will need to be carefully coordinated with the County of Stettler and Alberta Transportation and this work and weather conditions will be the determining factor as to when the track will be completed to Red Willow.

Natural Linear Parks

Work on the five Natural Linear Parks at Edberg, Meeting Creek, Big Valley, Rumsey and Rowley is all but complete. More than twenty miles of replacement parallel fences are now complete and most of the resulting waste materials have been collected. Locking gates have been installed at the entrances and exits of all the parks and vegetation over-growth on all of East Central Alberta Heritage Society’s rights of way not scheduled for rail reconstruction has been removed.

Rest area picnic tables and waste receptacles are ready for distribution and work on fully self contained bathrooms will be complete in time for installation as soon as the snow is gone and frost is out of the ground.

Close to 100 bird houses have been installed at the Meeting Creek Park and similar numbers will be installed at the other parks early this spring. Work on signage is currently underway. These signs will welcome visitors to the parks and layout certain prohibitions such as open fires, motorized vehicles and overnight camping.

All of East Central Alberta Heritage Society’s Natural Linear Parks are expected to be complete, open and ready for visitors by late May or early June.