Highway 22 between Black Diamond and Turner Valley now open

Courtesy of Gazette Grassroots

At 4:42pm today the road access between Black Diamond and Turner Valley was officially open to traffic.

The road east of the bridge has been re-built as has the road between the two towns.

Until approximately 6:00 pm there will be one lane of traffic crossing the bridge. Both lanes will be open tonight.

The Friendship Trail has also re-opened.

Thank you to all the hard working construction crews, security people and Alberta Transportation for a job well done.


Black Diamond Bridge Won’t Be Taken For Granted

Pam Jones, Gazette Grande Editor

Pastor Matt from the Black Diamond Gospel Church in Black Diamond opened the official re-opening ceremony in praying for the symbolism that the bridge represents between the two communities.


Alberta Minister of Transportation, Rick McIver thanked the workers and the first responders, Transportation Alberta staff, Volker Stevin workers, the local contractors that pitched in to help and the citizens of the area.

Rick McIver thanks workers and First Responders

He noted the true community effort that has been exhibited since the flood in the mutual support of everyone helping each other. “People worked together to get three months of work done in three weeks,” he said. He asked for a round of applause for Fire Chief Jamie Campbell (the event’s Master of Ceremonies) and all First Responders, saying, “You were there when you were needed the most.”

He went on to say, “When our Premier, Alison Redford, said ‘do whatever it takes’  that is exactly what you have done and I thank you all for that”. Thank you for working together and thank you for being Albertan’s.

Kyle said, “As Associate Minister of Recovery & Restoration in Southern Alberta I want to assure you that I am dedicated towards carrying out the Premier’s mandate for us in making sure these communities are back, up on their feet and running at full capacity and better than ever as soon as we possibly can. He thanked everyone for being here today and for their patience and support.

Turner Valley Mayor, Kelly Tuck, expressed her heartfelt thanks to everyone for all they have done. She said Turner Valley was not spared; North Royalite, Caulkins Place; Dekalta and Black Diamond bridges washed out, the loss of Black Diamond’s water treatment plant  – each challenge was met with a creative solution. She thanked the Province of Alberta and Volker Stevin for their dedication to completing this project.

She noted that we have another crucial issue – our water – Turner Valley, Black Diamond, the MD of Foothills and Longview started a quad regional water project. She said, “I do believe that it is now on the forefront, correct Kyle?”

Kelly thanked a long list of everyone involved for their acts of kindness and commitment to our communities, as we go forward in our friendship agreement. “Please know that together we will rebuild the Foothills but together we’re going to rebuild Alberta”.

Deputy Mayor of Black Diamond, Mike Ross, “Welcome back to our bridge I think it’s a wonderful thing”. He stressed that this isn’t over, “We’ve got some serious problems still to face and we have to face them together as a community. The spirit that was shown during the actual emergency is the spirit we are going to need over the next year, year and a half maybe even two years to get through this together. I know we can do it.” This is a major step in our progress and this bridge being reopened is going to reestablish the link between these two communities that is so tight and so critical. Mike thanked everyone that has helped to get this bridge re-opened.

Acting Reeve for the M.D. of Foothills, Suzanne Oel said “We have all seen a lot of waste, water, mud, construction and loss so today we are really happy to celebrate the good news of this bridge re-opening and the hard work of those that have laboured on this project. We are grateful to have our Canadians reconnect and we won’t be taking this bridge for granted again any time soon. I have felt very cut off from our friends here in Black Diamond  and Turner Valley and I’ve seen the stress on all of our communities. We look forward to the convenience of now being able to save driving time, open an important transportation route and more safely and effectively serve our communities with emergency services.”  She thanked everyone for the part they played in this project and also included our Foothills Public Works who helped with equipment, manpower, fill and gravel and supplies in the very beginning to get the project going. She concluded with, “We appreciate the priority given to it by the Provincial Government. So congratulations on a job well done.”

Fire Chief, Jamie Campbell, was the Master of Ceremonies for the afternoon and after being dubbed ‘the Master of Disasters’ by Minister McIver, Jamie said, “We have one small task left to do. Ministers, Elected Officials I need a sign moved please,” at which point the Ministers and Elected Officials promptly complied with his request and moved the ‘Road Closed’ sign off to the edge of the road.