BANFF – Mount Norquay Road will be closed to traffic for two to three days in mid-September as Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway does repair work at the train crossing.
Town of Banff officials say the railway giant originally planned on doing the work in August – the busiest month of the year for tourism – but pushed the work back until Sept. 16-17 following discussions with administration.
“That’s about as best a case as we can hope for. It’s not possible to do the work in winter,” said Adrian Field, engineering director for the Town of Banff during a council meeting Monday (Aug. 26).
“This is work that absolutely is required to be done.”
CPKC informed the Town of Banff that a routine inspection of the at-grade crossing at Mount Norquay Road identified work was required to keep the crossing in compliance with Transport Canada safety standards.
The work, which comes at a cost to the municipality, involves the complete renewal of the railway crossing, including sub-grade materials up to the concrete panels that form the surface of the road crossing between and adjacent to the rail lines.
Administration has also negotiated with CPKC to extend the concrete panels of the crossing to provide a wider and safer pedestrian crossing experience on the east side of the road between the Fenlands recreation centre and town.
CPKC estimates the work will cost about $190,000, but council has approved $225,000, which includes a contingency fund and $7,000 for the safer pedestrian experience. Any unspent budget will be returned to the visitor paid parking reserve at the end of the financial year.
Under federal railway regulations in Canada, the responsibility for costs for maintenance of at-grade crossings is determined by the crossing agreement in place between the railway and the road authority for the specific crossing location, or by government order.
In the case of the Norquay Road crossing, the relevant government order indicates 100 per cent of the costs of surface maintenance to the crossing to be the responsibility of the road authority, which in this case is the Town of Banff.
Based on discussions with CPKC, and the typical vehicle volumes at the crossing, Field said the municipality can expect a renewal project like this one will be required every 10 to 15 years.
Moving forward, Field said funding will be built into the long-term capital budget to avoid the need for similar funding requests outside the budget cycle in future.
“It’s not uncommon for these crossings to need replacement on a fairly regular basis,” Field said.
The other railway crossing near the industrial compound falls under Parks Canada.
“I can confirm dates are lined up for September 14 and 15 for the work at the other crossing,” said Field.
