Foothills County wants the province to reconsider cancelled median closures or find other ways to improve safety on Highway 2 following the most recent collision along the busy thoroughfare.
One person was killed and another suffered life-threatening injuries in a crash at the 338 Avenue intersection on Aug. 1. Based on an initial investigation, RCMP believe a vehicle travelling on 338 Avenue hit a vehicle travelling on Highway 2.
Foothills County Reeve Delilah Miller said it’s a dangerous intersection and the County will ask the province to improve safety there after planned median closures were reversed.
“It's really sad news for us that more people continue to be either killed or hurt at that intersection,” Miller said.
In response to safety concerns with three at-grade intersections on the highway, Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors previously said it would close the medians on Highway 2 at 306 Avenue, 338 Avenue and 370 Avenue to reduce traffic collisions.
The closures were scheduled to happen this summer, but the province recently reversed course, saying they have been postponed in response to stakeholder feedback.
“We need to know why they decided not to close those meridians,” Miller said. “In light of all the accidents that continue to happen there, (338 Avenue) is still on our radar as being a treacherous intersection.”
With a possible interchange at 338 Avenue at least several years away, Miller said a solution is still needed to make that intersection safer.
“We want to reopen this again with the Province and have them take another look at closure, or coming up with a solution for widening those lanes,” she said.
A statement from Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors said it is aware that an interchange at Highway 2 and 338 Avenue is a priority for both Foothills County and the Town of Okotoks.
A planning study for the interchange has been completed and the project is being included in budget talks for next year, it said.
In the meantime, the province said it will complete minor grading widening and improvements to the Highway 2 intersections at 338 and 306 avenues, but specific details aren’t available.
The Town of Okotoks said that it is reaching out to the province following the Aug. 1 crash to discuss the volume of incidents at that intersection and to ask that the interchange project move ahead.
