CANMORE – Volker Stevin has been awarded three out of the seven Alberta highway maintenance contracts put out for tender by the provincial government last year, including the Canmore area.
The company has held the contract to maintain highways in the region like the Trans-Canada for the past 20 years and officials said the new contract should not result in major changes to how that service is delivered.
“Volker Stevin has delivered the provincial highway maintenance contract in this area since 2001, and based upon the standards set by the province we do not anticipate many changes noticeable to the travelling public when compared to the services they are currently experiencing,” said Volker Stevin vice-president Fred Desjarlais.
The amount that will be given to the company has yet to be determined, as the total spent is dependent on how much work is required and ordered by Alberta Transportation. But Desjarlais said the local workers from the Bow Valley and Kananaskis Country will continue to “participate and support the local communities” they are a part of.
The province-wide contracts were awarded to Ledcor, Mainroad and Volker Stevin. Volker Stevin will be handling west-central Alberta, southwest Alberta and southern Alberta portions, which includes Canmore and Calgary.
“The infrastructure and resources are basically already in place for which we will work with,” Desjarlias said, noting the company employs more than a dozen people in the Bow Valley and Kananaskis.
The contract submissions were evaluated on a basis of 60 per cent cost and 40 per cent technical evaluation, including operational plans, organization, best practices and processes.
The company will be responsible for highway patrolling and emergency duties, winter maintenance, line painting and pavement markings, vegetation control, asphalt maintenance, roadside maintenance, bridge maintenance and cleaning, and highway lighting and signals maintenance.
“Safety on our highway network is our number one priority,” said Brian Mason, provincial minister of transportation. “We also have an obligation to make sure Albertans are getting value for their tax dollars.”
