May was a busy month for the County’s Infrastructure Department as they plan for an evenbusier summer season

Woodlands County Council receives a breakdown of ongoing Infrastructure Department
operations from the Director of Infrastructure Services toward the end of each month. Jeff
Zhang recently took on that role and provided May’s report on May 22. The Infrastructure Status
Report touches on several different categories of operations, including agricultural services,
roads, and water/wastewater.
“We have been focusing our efforts in the past month on seasonal changeovers, hiring and
training seasonal staff, and getting ready for summer,” explained Zhang. “On the roadside, we
have started drift removal for bridges and culverts. Bridge cleaning and roadway sweeping are
complete. Brushing and mowing will commence in the summer. Pothole patching is a routine
activity,” explained Zhang. Other projects include signpost repairs and road grading.
For paving, Zhang explained that three projects had been put together for one RFP (Request for
Proposal): West Mountain (including the bus pullover), East Mountain, Carlson Drive, and
Woodlands Lane, which leads to the County office, and the parking lot. “All those are packaged
together in one single RFP package, being advertised and closing in mid-June.”
Councillor Wilhelm asked about the parking lot and road leading to the County office, as both
projects had been moved to 2025. Zhang explained that though they were part of an RFP that
included projects for this year, the two-part project at the county office would be in 2025. “The
consultant will design them as separate projects and provide separate cost estimates. It’s for
ease of management to package them together into one single RFP,” he added.
Councillor Peter Kuelken asked what was included in the Carlson Drive project. “Is this RFP just
going to be for the drainage, or does it include the mitigation? The trees on our right-of-way are
part of the problem with the powerlines and stuff there,” he said. Zhang responded that the RFP
would look at drainage, the trail and the trees. “Those three have to go together,” he added.
Two county bridges are on opposing sides of the worksheet, with one in the design phase and
another stalled. “Bridge F78525, we have some issues with getting approval from the Federal
Department of Fisheries and Oceans, so that project will likely be delayed due to permitting.
BF73605, we are working on the design. We should have it designed and tender package ready
sometime in July.”
Another delayed item is the tender for Hard Luck Canyon, which was recently rejected due to
the bid coming back significantly over budget. The project would have seen the stairs and
fencing replaced. “We are working with the consultant for a revision of the tender for a late
summer tendering,” explained Zhang.
Several vehicles have been purchased this year. “We have received four half-ton trucks. There
are two additional three-quarter-ton trucks in route. They are currently in Calgary. (We are) just
waiting for delivery and (they) should be here sometime in June. We have ordered one tandem
sander/plow truck from the 2023 carryover budget, and that truck will be here sometime in
August. A second will arrive, out of the 2024 budget, and will arrive towards the end of the year.”
said Zhang.

Other purchases that have arrived include a zero-turn mower and a culvert steamer. Items
purchased that have not arrived include a rubber tire backhoe, skid steer, and two grader units,
which are expected to arrive in October or November of this year.
Councillors asked about the progress of two damaged roads in the meeting: Cutbanks Road
and Old Ferry Road. Councillor Deane spoke first. “I see there’s a note in the Capital about the
Cutbanks Road construction, and the second sentence speaks to a consultant service that’s
been obtained to determine the feasibility of securing the riverbank adjacent to the existing road
versus relocating the roadway. I didn’t realize those were options. I’m happy to see that because
that’s a beautiful scenic road, and if it can feasibly be salvaged, then I think that’s an option that
I would hope Council would look at closely.”
Zhang said that the consultant tasked with the project will be the one to determine what path to
take. “He was asked to compare the option of keeping the existing alignment and doing the
bank protection versus realigning the road through a new road construction. To me, that’s an
important conceptual-level question to be asked before we charge forward into preliminary
engineering and detailed design,” Zhang responded.
Councillor Burrows queried next. “The Old Ferry Road was very eroded. We lost like 80 feet of
the bank, and there is a section there that’s actually barricaded.” In jest, he said it’s a very
scenic road now because drivers are so close to the river. “I was wondering if we could get an
update on where we are going with that road,” he asked.
“There were three flooded locations last year. Two overtop of the roads and one bank being
eroded. The two overtop locations have been repaired. The bank that was cut through the 2023
flood, the same consultant working on the Cutbanks Road, is also looking at developing the
different options of bank protection versus realigning the road,” said Zhang.
Reports from Old Ferry Road and Cutbanks Road are expected sometime in June. Zhang said
once he receives them, he will bring them forward for Council to review. He is also anticipating a
report back on cold mix options in August or September. He added that he would ask the
consultant to consider a variety of techniques to fix roads.
The last topic focused on areas in Blue Ridge that need attention. Councillor Bruce Prestidge
asked about a stretch of damaged sidewalk. “I believe it’s Second Street. There’s a stretch of
sidewalk that’s all broken up. Across the street, there’s a ditch that holds water all the time. The
sidewalk has gaps that are like two inches high. People are complaining that they are tripping
on it.” Zhang said he knew about the site and a couple of rutted intersections. He said he
planned to bring a crew there this summer to deal with the issues.