Typical spring and early summer rains in the Beaver County area has slowed construction of the Highway 834 Bypass. The 5 km stretch of highway will link 834 east of Tofield with 834 north of the town without going through the school zone or residential neighbourhoods which the road presently does. Now underway, the construction is expected to be completed before summer 2021.
Construction on the $20 million Highway 834 bypass around Tofield began this spring and is ongoing, expected to be completed in one year.
The present construction site is east of 51 Avenue (Highway 626), as heavy duty equipment begins extending 834 east of Tofield with the portion north of town with a 5 km extension.
Previously when the oil business was booming in Alberta, Highway 834 was being used to move over 900 over-sized loads yearly as it is a designated corridor for this traffic. The difficulty being that 834 passes through Tofield, and the giant loads have been passing through residential neighbourhoods and the school zone.
In 2016 the daily traffic count on Highway 834 turning on 51 Ave in Tofield to Highway 626 which connects with 834 south, was 1,400 vehicles daily including an average of 92 semi-trailer tractors.
Read the full story in the July 8 edition of The Tofield Mercury. Did you miss it? Buy a digital edition below.
