CANMORE – Drivers and pedestrians trying to cross two busy Canmore railway crossings can likely expect detours at the end of August.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Rail informed the Town the tracks at Railway Avenue North and 17th Street and the pedestrian crossing on 10th Street will need replacing.
Trevor Reeder, a project manager in the Town’s engineering department, said work is anticipated to take place Aug. 27-29.
“In this situation, very similar to last year, we have basically no rights to dictate scope or timing to CPKC,” he said of CPKC Rail telling the Town of the future work.
“We ask nicely, we negotiate, we do our best, but at the end of the day they’ve told us that this needs to happen with other railway work and it’s going to happen, as of now, on Aug. 27 just prior to Labour Day long weekend, which is unfortunate.”
Since the railway tracks existed before the roadway, CPKC informs the Town when work needs to be done and the municipality covers the costs, said Reeder.
A crossing agreement is in place between the municipality and CPKC Rail when a road or pedestrian crossing goes over a rail line.
Transport Canada and the Canadian Transportation Agency regulate the agreement, with municipalities typically bearing the cost for maintenance, rehabilitation and replacement.
According to Transport Canada’s grade crossings inventory, there are 24,968 public and private crossings. Of those, CPKC has the second most in the country at 6,463. CN Rail has the most at 12,520.
The Town will be on the hook for a budgeted amount of $520,000 to replace the tracks at Railway Avenue North and 17th Street and the pedestrian crossing on 10th Street.
A staff report stated the Town was told by CPKC Rail that the work needed to be done is expected to take place this year.
“CPKC Rail has provided short notice on the need for a full replacement of the railway crossing at the north end of Railway Avenue. ... CPKC has also indicated that the pedestrian rail crossing at 10th Street needs to be replaced due to ongoing maintenance issues,” stated a staff report.
The work will be the third time since 2020 that Canmore’s railway tracks are being replaced.
The rail crossing at Spring Creek Drive was replaced by CPKC Rail in 2020, with the Town billed $295,000. In 2023, the rail crossing at Railway Avenue near Elevation Place cost the Town roughly $330,000 after temporary fixes had been done in 2022 and 2023.
The $520,000 will come from the Town’s asset replacement and rehabilitation reserve, which is projected to end the year at $6.8 million. Railway Avenue North and 17th Street is anticipated to cost $395,000, while the 10th Street crossing is projected for $85,000 and a 10 per cent contingency of $40,000.
The budget estimate from CPKC Rail has eight utility crew, three people for road surfacing and two welders completing the work.
Reeder said CPKC Rail informed the Town the lifecycle for replacement is five to 10 years, but in the past, it’s been closer to eight to 12 years.
The Spring Creek crossing was built in 2008 and redone in 2020, while Railway South was replaced in 2011 and again in 2023. Railway North was previously done in 2016.
“We’ll have more conversations with [CPKC] and try to get a better range going forward and hope to get more notice,” he said. “Their budget cycle is December, January, which is difficult for budget cycle, but I think if we get a better handle on those rehab ranges, we can better forecast and it puts us in a better position.”
The report stated CPKC Rail told the Town May 9 the Railway Avenue North and 17th Street crossing was scheduled for replacement on Aug. 27, which will see the full replacement of rail and ties, ballast gravels, crossing surface and asphalt.
It added CPKC Rail is also aiming to replace the 10th Street pedestrian rail crossing “due to ongoing safety and maintenance issues”. The intent is to do both at the same time, according to the report.
The report further noted the Town asked for work to be down in the fall, but CPKC Rail said it was “non-negotiable” and would depend on the repair crews availability.
“The Town has no input into the methods of maintenance and rehabilitation activities,” the staff report highlighted. “The timing of the project and extent of work have been discussed between the Town and [CPKC Rail], however [CPKC Rail] determines the schedule for this work.”
