An Okotoks landmark is slated to be replaced within the next two years.
The Town is working on plans to replace the Laurie Boyd Bridge across the Sheep River between the Okotoks Public Library and Sheep River Park.
Okotoks engineering manager Marley Oness said the current bridge is too narrow and doesn’t accommodate all users.
“It’s difficult for anybody cycling, they’d need to dismount if they pass anybody on there,” said Oness.
He said a wider bridge would lend itself better to the Town’s active transportation plan, which encourages Okotokians to get out and use pathway systems for both recreation and as a way to get around town.
The Town is looking at a very utilitarian bridge about four metres wide, in order to accommodate maintenance or emergency vehicles as necessary and allow pedestrians or cyclists to pass safely, he said.
There isn’t too much concern about high water in the Sheep River, he said. Any new bridge will be able to withstand flooding and spring thaw.
“The only thing is that the bridge will be designed so that it will stay,” said Oness. “When we get our floods there’s always the chance that we might have some pathways washed out on either end of the bridge, but the bridge isn’t going to move – similar to how the old bridge has withstood a number of floods.”
The bridge is named in memory of Laurie Boyd, who was kidnapped and murdered in 1982. The 16-year-old disappeared from her job at an Okotoks convenience store where she was working on Jan. 30, 1982.
There won’t be any physical changes to the site this year.
The Town will hire a consultant to create a detailed design in 2017, he said. Once the design is completed, the Town will be able to price out the new bridge and enter it into the budget going forward, he said.
Construction is expected to begin in 2018, but Oness said it’s difficult to say how much park users will be inconvenienced during the project. The Town is exploring options to keep the current bridge open while the new one is built, he said.
“It will all come down to what kind of a premium might we have to pay if we were to try to keep the existing bridge functional while we construct the new bridge,” said Oness. “At this point I don’t know how much that could be or if we could even manage it.”
