It was a full house in the Taber Heritage Inn conference room on Thursday, as residents attended an open house to learn what the future could hold for Highway 3.
The event focused on the stretch of the east-west route between Burdett, Alta. and Taber, Alta. It’s part of ongoing discussions to twin the highway west of Medicine Hat.
After compiling survey results from a similar event in June, Stantec, a firm contracted by the province, now recommends the route bypass both Grassy Lake and Taber.
“It’s very much a planning exercise to make sure the right of way is planned for the future and protected,” Stantec engineer Rhonda Shewchuck said.
Businesses counting on highway traffic have expressed some concern about losing the business from travellers passing through.
Andrew Prokop, the mayor of Taber, says the town has 45 businesses fronting the highway.
“That’s a lot of business that it could definitely affect. But again, we’re looking at some time down the road. These are very preliminary, so I think we need to be open minded.”
There’s also some uncertainty among area farmers, like Mark Ross, who own land on either side of the suggested route.
“I’ll be looking at a 10- or 12-mile detour just to get from one farm to the other, which is approximately five miles apart right now,” Ross said.
He’s referring to the fact that the freeway will use interchanges to connect road junctions, and they won’t occur as often as they do now.
Klassen thinks less traffic through town could have a positive effect on safety.
Stantec plans to review the feedback received at this meeting and says it will prepare a final report on the proposed freeway. The company anticipates releasing that report sometime next year.