Leduc County unveils details of 2026 rural roads program

LEDUC COUNTY -- Leduc County's rural roads network will see $2,000,000 worth of improvements this year. 

The work scheduled for 2026 comes as part of the County's 'rural roads initiative', which will see significant enhancements on local roads to align with the goals of their 2020 Gravel Road Strategy. This will include approximately 850 linear metres of spot repair, which will feature the removal of soft spots and organic material and the placement of 63mm concrete and re-graveling. Shoulder pulls will be conducted along 21 miles of rural roadways.

"As you might be aware, some roads get quite wide -- 10, 11 metres -- so the shoulder pulls tighten up the roads to our specifications which is 7.5 metres wide," said Raf Tenderenda, Leduc County's Road Operations Manager. "It also re-establishes the crown for proper drainage."

In total, Leduc County will be undertaking 3.5 miles of drainage improvement to clean up and re-establish ditches. 80,000 square metres of tree mulching and brushing will also be completed with the goal of removing vegetation to improve sightlines and overall road safety. Approximately eight miles of rocky road improvements will also take place in 2026, including the removal of large rocks and boulders from gravel roads.

"Two million dollars is a great investment," said Leduc County Mayor Tanni Doblanko. "What we've learned in all these years, is that you generally don't have to rebuild the whole road, you just have to touch up some of the parts."

Meantime, the 2026 crushing program will produce 63 mm recycled concrete at a contractual rate of $12.44 per tonne, plus a mobilization fee of $18,915. Based on current stockpile inventories, approximately 14,000 tonnes of uncrushed concrete are planned for processing.