A 250-metre section of Marmot Road that has caused drivers grief over the years will be temporarily fixed in October, at least that鈥檚 what Marmot Basin has been led to believe.
Parks Canada repaired the section of road in 2012, but since then the pavement has buckled forcing drivers to slow down or risk damaging their vehicles.
鈥淥bviously there are a couple of pretty big bumps in the road and my understanding is that Parks Canada is going to fix those this October for the winter,鈥� said Brian Rode, Marmot Basin鈥檚 vice-president of marketing聽and sales.
鈥淚t will get us through the winter.鈥�
According to Rode, the temporary fix will give Parks Canada more time so it can completely rebuild the section of road next year.
鈥淚f there were no plans to fix it up this winter than of course we would be concerned, because it has to get fixed, but again our understanding is that they fully intend on doing that this October with plans to redo it the following spring and summer,鈥� said Rode.
鈥淚 have faith that Parks Canada will come through with their plans to get it fixed up this October.鈥�
The particular section of road that is crumbling is located just past the Portal Creek parking lot.
Parks Canada said it was aware of the issues on Marmot Road and is in the planning phase to determine the best course of action, but declined to confirm whether the road would be fixed in time for Marmot鈥檚 opening day, slated for Nov. 11.
鈥淧arks Canada has conducted a number of assessments on roads within Jasper National Park over the summer and is aware of the issues on Marmot Road and the Maligne Lake intersection,鈥� wrote Joseph Zebrowski, a public relations officer for Jasper National Park, in reference to another interview request.
In August, Parks Canada announced four intersections along Highway 16, towards the east gate, were slated for construction. The intersections include: Maligne Lake Road, Transfer Station Road, Palisades Centre Road and Airport Road.
There's been no formal announcement about construction plans for Marmot Road.
Paul Clarke
[email protected]
