Fears 881 is the new 63 emerge as twinning nears completion

There are some crashes on Highway 881 that stand out in Travis Cramer’s memory.

One such crash came in 2008, when the chief of Anzac’s volunteer fire department arrived at a scene roughly 50 kilometres south of the rural hamlet. The driver of an SUV was not wearing a seatbelt when he collided with a second vehicle, and was thrown out of the sunroof, hitting the ground like a missile.

A volunteer joining the team on one of his first calls realized firefighting was not his vocation when he saw this, and decided he would quit once he returned to Anzac.

“Some scenes are just etched in your memory permanently. It wasn’t a pretty sight,” said Cramer. “I’m doing alright, but there’s a lot of times you remember what happened and what you saw when you drive past these scenes. You see the crosses and you remember and you wonder what could have went differently.”

At 99 per cent completion, the $1.2-billion twinning of Highway 63 is expected to conclude this spring, months ahead of the October 2016 deadline set by former premier Alison Redford nearly four years ago.

But since the April 2012 immolation of six people and a pregnant woman on 63, 28 people have died on the direct stretch to Edmonton, with 12 on Highway 881.

To those living and working in Wood Buffalo’s southern hamlets, the upkeep of 881 has lagged since the twinning to Grassland was announced in late 2012. If planners don’t shift their attention towards 881, they fear the road could become even more dangerous than 63 once oil prices pick up.

“Traffic is starting to get up there,” said Cramer. “This past winter has slowed, but previous winters have been busy for us, and it could get busy again for us soon.”

It was south of Anzac when the dangers of driving 881 became clear. On this early December day, the weather is clear and the drive through the boreal forest is a scenic one, if one doesn’t mind the warnings: Logs May Swing Into Your Lane. Beware Wide Load. Distracted Driving Laws In Effect.

But on this Thursday afternoon, some drivers edge onto the highway’s few shoulders to peek around convoys of wide loads and transport trucks, swinging into oncoming lanes to pass.

Sometimes packs of vehicles followed, frequently blowing past speeds of 160 kilometres an hour to leap frog around other drivers, racing to shave an hour off the journey to Edmonton or one of the work camps dotting the highway’s route.

The two-lane ribbon of asphalt begins south of Fort McMurray, snaking through boreal forest and past tiny hamlets, dozens of in situ projects and the work camps housing their mobile workforce, before ending in Lac La Biche.

A southern portion of the highway continues 70 kilometres south of Lac La Biche, running 216 kilometres towards Hardisty, the planned launch point for Energy East and the Keystone XL pipeline.

At 266 kilometres, 881 is shorter than 63 but just as crucial to Alberta’s economy. Provincial data shows leases for in situ sites covers an area 20 times larger than the entire mineable area north of Fort McMurray. Most leases exist south of the city and along the 881 corridor.

The most recent municipal data indicates that, by 2030, one-third of Wood Buffalo’s permanent population will live in rural areas.

The report, which was presented to council last June, does not have a forecast breakdown for individual hamlets, but the mayor and council have in the past acknowledged the southern parts of the riding will face massive population growth.

Earlier this month, oil prices hit a low unseen since 2003, but companies like Cenovus plan to expand existing projects in the area; Canadian Natural Resources was given approval to begin exploratory work near Gregoire Lake last year.

“We’ve been lobbying the provincial government about the highway forever,” said Councillor Jane Stroud, who represents the ward 881 runs through. “It’s incredible that a highway that busy has few shoulders and pullouts for traffic.”

The topography of the route makes the possibility of twinning difficult in some areas. But Stroud and Cramer argue the lack of shoulders and pullouts makes enforcement difficult for police. Even if that situation improved, the fines issued by the provincial government can be easily paid by a cash-flush oilsands worker.

“What true prevention comes back to is driver behaviour,” says Sergeant Henry Van Dorland of the Lac La Biche RCMP. During shift changes, it’s not uncommon for Van Dorland to see drivers press their luck by going more than 50 kilometres over the speed limit.

“We’ve seen people increase their speed from 90 kilometres per hour to 150 when they see a passing lane and they’re desperate to get around someone,” he says. “In fact, once we pull someone over, they’re even more desperate to get home, so they’re stepping on it to make up for lost time. We still get the odd person a second time.”

In 2013, Redford cancelled $300 million in upgrades to 881, and since then, there have been few changes or plans for the highway’s upkeep announced. But a statement from Alberta Transportation says 881 will be considered during upcoming budget consultations.

“We know that industry and residents are keen to see improvements on Highway 881, such as passing and climbing lanes, and rest areas along the corridor,” read an emailed statement to the Today. “As we move forward with budget planning, we must set priorities for projects across the province and balance the needs of communities across the province. Highway 881 will be included in this review.”

Wednesday, February 24, 2016/Fort McMurray Today