tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post7093311363469667919..comments2024-02-18T20:48:07.173-08:00Comments on McMurray Musings: An Open Letter to Premier Alison Redford - Fort McMurray and Highway 63Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217715252564049451noreply@blogger.comBlogger326125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-81092885300514014892012-05-11T19:11:58.036-07:002012-05-11T19:11:58.036-07:00This has to be done now. I agree with previous pos...This has to be done now. I agree with previous posts stating that the oil companies have to foot some of the bill. They pay taxes yes, but why do we outsource our resource in such a way? Fishery, forestry, oil, and now water. What are we going to give away for chicken feed next? We are selling off our country piece by piece and on top of it, the workers and their families have to put up with horrible roads, sub par infrastructure and a government that does not care as long as oil keeps pumping to the mighty US.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-46732558709899837872012-05-06T13:31:30.081-07:002012-05-06T13:31:30.081-07:00Wow what a great idea! A TOLL ROAD !
Yes the fina...Wow what a great idea! A TOLL ROAD !<br /><br />Yes the final solution would be a toll road not to collect money but to catch the speeders .There would be cameras to catch them and they would be stopped at the toll gate. what an idea?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01928711097077796148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-29988411468363020122012-05-06T13:29:22.542-07:002012-05-06T13:29:22.542-07:00@Mike Punko Yes! Yes! Yes! A TOLL ROAD ! Yes!
Fi...@Mike Punko Yes! Yes! Yes! A TOLL ROAD ! Yes! <br /><br />First the road beside the rail line that exists today which goes via Conklin could be upgraded to a truck wide gravel road this summer and then all truck transport over a certain size should follow it so the other vehicles can use the existing road while it is twinned.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01928711097077796148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-84390157613323284712012-05-06T09:10:18.449-07:002012-05-06T09:10:18.449-07:00Wow, where do I start...Theresa, what a letter!!! ...Wow, where do I start...Theresa, what a letter!!! I now live back in Airdrie and I stay in camp and fly in & out of site at CNRL Horizon. I chose to return to camp life because I did not want to become another statistic of HWY 63. When I first started working up north that road really never fizzed on me because it was spring and summer and I was going in for 24 and out for 4. I ended up laid off for a couple of months, but soon to return in December of 2008. That is when I started at CNRL, 7 days in 7 days out. HWY 63 became more frequent for me, including a mishap on black ice for me. That winter of '08/'09 was the scariest thing I'd ever seen. I had never seen so many accidents and road closures in my life. I would literally be shaking by the time I got up to Fort McMurray for work or home to Airdrie for all the accidents I arrived upon. This highway needs to be twinned came to my thoughts everytime. I always wondered how long and how many people had to lose their lives in order for it to happen.<br /><br />I even moved to Fort McMurray to cut my travel on 63 down, yet I would find myself on it anyway because I had to visit my neice in Airdrie. Then CNRL came up with a camp and fly in/fly out for their employees and not just their contractors anymore, I jumped on the opportunity. But I still have a lot of friends that are close to me that drive 63 regularly. Not a day goes by that I dont pray for them or think of them. I know what kind trouble is lurking on that highway and if it cannot be stopped, it can be slowed down a whole bunch with the twinning job. No one will ever be able to stop idiocy, I just hope karma gets those people back. Also, did the government/oil comanies really think that a crappy 2 lane road would really hold up to all those ginourmous loads?! They wonder why 63 is deteriorating as bad as it is....go figure & grab some brains people, this highway twinning job should have been done 30 yearts ago!!! <br />Anyways, thank you Theresa for writing this letter!<br />God Bless!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-70785295740786091642012-05-04T17:51:42.350-07:002012-05-04T17:51:42.350-07:00Park ever wrecked vehicle in front of the legisla...Park ever wrecked vehicle in front of the legislative building for all of them to see.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-8095788514872928402012-05-04T17:45:45.672-07:002012-05-04T17:45:45.672-07:00Please don't give them any ideals about a tax ...Please don't give them any ideals about a tax to pay for this.they collect more than enough. What I would support is making it a Tole road. That way the large loads would pay this largest few. Also withTole roads the time it take you to get from one booth to another has been successfully used in court to fine people for speeding. Bit in no way should the residents of WB pay, we've already paid with our bloodAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-76595966291568520052012-05-04T14:31:45.465-07:002012-05-04T14:31:45.465-07:00...and it's Canada's umbilical cord to pro......and it's Canada's umbilical cord to prosperity too I would say.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-41637789370657440952012-05-04T12:47:49.687-07:002012-05-04T12:47:49.687-07:00while traveling to Edmonton for a doctor appointme...while traveling to Edmonton for a doctor appointment - the visability was not the greatest with fog early in the morning, all of a sudden my husband pulled over to the side. I asked him why he did that and he said he didn't know - the fellow following us was going to pass, he also pulled when we did. If he had continued to pass us, he would have run smack into a wide load coming toward us, and it could have been a tragedy. We were very lucky that the fellow behind us decided to pull over when he did. <br />Another time, we were heading to Edmonton for a docotr appointment and it was snowing heavy, again visability was bad. We passed a semi on a double lane and shortly after that a speeding truck passed us on a single lane. When we got to Grassland, we just arrive when the truck that passed us was leaving, and we were just leaving when the semi truck we passed arrived. So what was the reason for passing, we all arrived within ten minutes of each other anyways. <br /><br />KarenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-40136980952247912122012-05-03T23:59:41.074-07:002012-05-03T23:59:41.074-07:00Fort McMurray. The economic hub of Canada. Highw...Fort McMurray. The economic hub of Canada. Highway 63 the biggest joke and lie. The politicians of our country bought our votes with just a few cheap words and a few miles of twinned roads. Why do we fall for this? It is time for all the lies to stop. DO WHAT YOU PROMISED in a timely manner. Cost, Fort McMurray is already paying too high a price..Allan Iwaskownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-80024011415826203312012-05-02T20:47:46.139-07:002012-05-02T20:47:46.139-07:00Charge the big companies who plan to be shipping R...Charge the big companies who plan to be shipping RAW BITUMEN out of the Country a Royalty per barrel of raw Bitumen that enters the pipeline in Fort mac. This will soon pay for an upgraded rail line to take the freight and a twinned highway for safer travel. Heavily loaded trucks transship containers to the rail and never use HWY 63 again. What do you guys think?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01928711097077796148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-35471446771525138102012-05-02T20:44:02.611-07:002012-05-02T20:44:02.611-07:00"Great Alberta Railroad Company" or some..."Great Alberta Railroad Company" or some such name, to be financed by the Alberta Government . Simply buy out the current owners ( if not currently owned by Alberta ) and start the GREAT FORT MAC ALBERTA RAILROAD COMPANY . The upgrade of the current rail bed and rail line will take half the time it would take to twin the rest of HWY 63. The twinning and rail upgrade could be done simultaneously . Then RAW BITUMEN royalties on bitumen shipped out of Canada need to be applied to pay for this. What do you guys think?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01928711097077796148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-62539644304343603862012-05-02T20:33:47.319-07:002012-05-02T20:33:47.319-07:00What about getting the rail line that parallels Hw...What about getting the rail line that parallels Hwy 63 upgraded quickly to take the heavy truck loads currently trucked on Hwy 63 ? This would give the crews doing the twinning an easier time and drivers would not see so much congestion. I would guess that up grading the rail bed and rail line itself would be a quick fix compared to all the construction involved in the highway winning. Twinning and rail line up grade could proceed simultaneously .<br />What do you guys think? Let's put our heads together and use common sense something the Alberta PC s do not have.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01928711097077796148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-80679420316591220482012-05-02T20:26:47.200-07:002012-05-02T20:26:47.200-07:00Re: Twinning Highway 63..
I agree with your comme...Re: Twinning Highway 63..<br /><br />I agree with your comments and sentiments exactly. The Alberta PC s had a chance 10 years ago to slow down development as suggested by their old founder Peter Lougheed and did nothing. Stelmach in his bumbling way tried to introduce higher royalties and hr anted it on OIL and GAS and Bitulen Production. This was greeted by an exodus of oil rigs drilling for OIL and GAS to Saskatchewan. So naturally he did the politically expedient thing and retreated the royalties plan. BUt he should have increase royalties on BITUMEN only and this would have simply slowed down the start od more and more plants . The companies shipping raw bitumen diluted with diluent down the pipelines to foreign countries i.e. USA and China etc would pay the BITUMEN ROYALTIES . They would then look at processing here in Alberta instead and we would be able to supply the construction and design work forces out of the hordes of those people no longer needed in Fort MacAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01928711097077796148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-38455118498162079882012-05-02T20:16:43.440-07:002012-05-02T20:16:43.440-07:00Collect more ROYALTIES to pay for itCollect more ROYALTIES to pay for itAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01928711097077796148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-7706573603457331472012-05-01T13:16:25.138-07:002012-05-01T13:16:25.138-07:00Yes, twinning This highway will save lives.. Maybe...Yes, twinning This highway will save lives.. Maybe mine..But we need to address the Idiots driving this road.. This was "Copy and pasted" from a Guy that makes his living on this road..<br /><br />"The highway isn't the problem, it is the people driving on it. I live in Wandering River, and a can't begin to explain all the completely avoidable accidents that I have seen. For a few years I worked in Marriana Lakes and traveled this highway every day. The plain stupidity of some of the poeple on this road astounds me. I have seen people three wide while passing, and even saw four wide going up crow creek hill once! People are always ready to blame the province because they haven't twinned the highway, but nobody seems to take responsibilty for the way they drive. Yesterday on my way home heading north towards Wandering River I met what must have been a bunch of traffic going south that either was let through the accident scene, or turned around and were heading for 881. In a 20km stretch I saw at least 3 vehicles passing multiple vehicles while going around a corner and/or with solid lines and oncoming traffic! And they weren't passing because traffic was going slow either, apparently they saw a need to go 140km/h instead 110km/h.<br /><br />The only thing twinning will do is reduce the number of head ons. And I say reduce becuase people will still make it across the center portion and into the other lane. Look at how bad some of highway 2 was until they put up the cable barriers in the center. What people don't realize is how much of an increase of speed there will be on a twinned road. Again look at the speeds on highway 2, and there is a much higher presence of RCMP there then here. There will still be bad accidents because it will still be the same people driving the road, just going faster!" <br /><br />Yes, I Have exceeded the speed limit on this highway..Only because if I was stuck in a pack of Idiots going 130 kmh They would try to pass me..On blind curves .Double solid line hills. I have driven this highway in the most Outrageous conditions Mother Nature could throw at me. Whiteout blizzards ..Freezing rain storms..but the F#@kin idiot drivers scare me the most...<br />I drove up to Ft Mac one time, during a wicked snowstorm after dark on 63.<br />I usually plan my trip so I don't have to drive in darkness but the weather slowed me down.<br /> Very little traffic, no tire ruts to follow. It was so bad that I actually had to completely stop, 2 or 3 times because I couldn't tell where I was on the road ... Everything was totally white. <br />Then I saw approaching headlights in the distance, I aimed my car at them, ... I saw no less than 20 vehicles off the road that night....Some rolled down huge embankments..The point is ; I made it through some of the worst conditions ever on Hwy 63..Because I slowed down and drove smart..<br />"PS" When I reached the 881 interchange,the RCMP had closed the southbound 63 to travel..And the officer manning the barricade,seemed astonished that me,and my 2 wheel drive Lincoln Mark VII,had made it through..<br /><br />When This Highway is finally twinned "Which will take at the least 10 years" People will still die on this highway.....Drive smart,Drive safe..Albertadavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03846942184553481916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-69974120979636371082012-05-01T12:25:11.430-07:002012-05-01T12:25:11.430-07:00I would pay for the gas if Allison Redford drove t...I would pay for the gas if Allison Redford drove this road during the times that you stated..Albertadavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03846942184553481916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-58529044253799498412012-05-01T12:12:03.673-07:002012-05-01T12:12:03.673-07:00I agree with your post 98%.."driver error&quo...I agree with your post 98%.."driver error" should read Driver stupidity...Albertadavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03846942184553481916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-38217105845556616422012-05-01T09:21:44.456-07:002012-05-01T09:21:44.456-07:00Very well said, I hope that the people in charge o...Very well said, I hope that the people in charge of making the decision to twin highway 63 feel the same pain that everyone in Fort McMurray does, and it compels them to expedite this twinning.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-56288296714417651522012-05-01T01:50:31.898-07:002012-05-01T01:50:31.898-07:00You are so right! It is MORE than enough! I left F...You are so right! It is MORE than enough! I left FMM a year ago and it pains me to hear about all those accidents! I also hope Alberta will prohibit the use of mobile phones when driving as well, or has this law been passed in the meantime?Louisehttp://www.alenburg.nlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-35023204372644764502012-04-30T22:39:50.237-07:002012-04-30T22:39:50.237-07:00Theresa I applaud your letter! My husband and I tr...Theresa I applaud your letter! My husband and I travel that highway every 6 days. It has gone untouched way to long and it's time we the people stood up and let our voices be heard!Rayna Boychuknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-47355442138194603402012-04-30T21:27:45.985-07:002012-04-30T21:27:45.985-07:00BITUMEN ROYALTIES folks! That's what we need! ...BITUMEN ROYALTIES folks! That's what we need! More royalties on Raw Bitumen produced and shipped OVERSEAS without being processed in Alberta/Canada.<br />The industry is boasting that they will be producing 3 million barrels of bitumen in 2015. Let's slap on a royalty for BITUMEN EXPORTED of $2 per barrel by 2015.<br /><br />Forget adding any more royalties on oil and gas .They are a depleting resource already. Stelmach tried it ,the oil companies squealed and moved rigs to Saskatchewan and so Stelmach reneged. Bitumen is different. The oil companies involved have only one option either stop production or pay the royalties if they intend to ship our Bitumen overseas. Process it here instead and pay no more royalty. Jobs lost in Fort Mac will be gained in Redwater and other areas where the raw bitumen will be converted to consumer products. Diesel can be pumped or hauled by rain to the coast and on the China - no problem using existing lines via Yellohead HWY Jasper and on to Vancouver.<br /><br />In the meantime this will buy us financing to award contracts to speed up the twinning of highway 63 starting tomorrow! The Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund that Lougheed's Government started 41 years ago and which has sat in doldrums lately can be increased by $1 billion per year for future generations. By 2050 at that rate it will be approx $100 billion!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01928711097077796148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-75369781162569792312012-04-30T20:06:58.594-07:002012-04-30T20:06:58.594-07:00Thank you so much for taking the time to write thi...Thank you so much for taking the time to write this letter. So well done. I live in Wpg and have children, grandchildren who live in Ft Mac. We have travelled up there to visit a number of times and I can say that I have never seen so many crosses on the side of a road anywhere in my travels. This Highway has to be a priority, the AB Government has to take responsibilty and get this highway twinned this summer, what ever it takes to make this happen, it has to happen. Such a horrific way to die! My prayers and thoughts are with the people left behind. So very sad I can't even begin to imagine how you are all coping.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-36464571472378411432012-04-30T19:31:55.089-07:002012-04-30T19:31:55.089-07:00Great suggestionsGreat suggestionselizabethannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01639600850845186215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-75253754276702064342012-04-30T19:31:08.516-07:002012-04-30T19:31:08.516-07:00The oil companies ARE footing the bill by paying h...The oil companies ARE footing the bill by paying hundreds of millions each year in royalties. The royalties they have paid could have built 10 super highways by now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-71704665247630695892012-04-30T18:26:06.005-07:002012-04-30T18:26:06.005-07:00An excellent read. I read this Sunday.. than again...An excellent read. I read this Sunday.. than again this morning.. than I shared it with my friends. Thank you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com