A portion of Yankee Valley will be closed for an extended period lasting into the new year.

Ken Velcic, Engineering Technologist with City of Airdrie, said Fortis Alberta applied for the closure so that they could remove and bury an overhead powerline that runs along the road east of East Lake Boulevard.

The closure will see the shoulder lane of westbound Yankee Valley Boulevard closed for a stretch between East Lake Boulevard and Range Road 291. The closure started on December 14 and will last until January 15, with a break for the holidays from December 22 to January 2.

"They're working before and after the holidays, so that's why the closure goes right through until January," said Velcic.

Velcic also explained why Fortis has undertaken the project.

"Apparently they've had a lot of issues with it over the year in regards to it going out of service because it gets hit by tree branches and things like that in the area. It's right next to a strip which has a lot of trees in it, so it's been a challenge for them over the years and they indicated that they want to just remove that conflict."

Velcic was not able to say if the project accounts for the possibility of unfavorable weather that might cause the closure to be extended. A manager at Fortis did not reply to a request to speak about the possibility of the closure being extended.

 

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