It is often joked in Alberta that there are two seasons in the province: winter and construction.
Around the Stettler area this has definitely been the case this summer; construction on Highway 56 north of town and on Highway 12 east of town has definitely slowed down travellers.
As a Castor resident working in Stettler, I deal with the traffic headaches that come with the construction on just about a daily basis —really, I appreciate my days where I can remote work.
Highway 12 especially was in rough shape. It needed work. I am grateful that the province is finally repairing it.
The issue I am currently having with that section of road right now is the other drivers on it.
Since no lines are yet painted, the speed limits are restricted to 80km/h and there is no passing because it just isn’t safe; yet, every day I do the posted speed limit and every day I get passed by vehicles flying by.
One of the vehicles passing me the other day was a commercial vehicle who was out of sight in front of me within a matter of seconds. The hilarious part was 10 minutes later, he was stopped one vehicle in front of me at the same flag person waiting on the construction crew to let us pass.
Was the speeding, and illegal passing, worth a ticket just to get to the flagging person a couple minutes before me?
This is of course all happening at a time after there was already a serious incident with the paving crew near Gadsby where one person was killed and one person was airlifted out by STARS Air Ambulance.
Speeding in construction zones is dangerous. Speeding decreases your mileage. Speeding is also worth double points on your licence and double fine if you do get a ticket.
In short, it’s just not worth it.
The construction crews work long hours in hot conditions to give the residents of the region decent highways to drive on while dealing with impatient commuters over the inconvenience of being delayed.
Slowing down or stopping for a few minutes doesn’t add significantly to your trip.
Budget some extra time for your trips through the construction areas.
Slow down.
Have patience.
Help these crews get home after completing these projects safely.