Work will soon begin on a secondary access road to College of the Rockies, extending approximately 800 metres from the east side of the College's campus to 30th Avenue North.
An artist's rendering of the additional access to and from College of the Rockies' Cranbrook main campus shows its location behind the student housing buildings leading to a connection with 30th Ave. North.
"This road extension has been on the College's capital plan for a very long time, and we are grateful to the Province for providing the funding to move forward with construction this year," said Allan Knibbs, Director, Facilities. "Creating a secondary access road to the campus makes the campus even more walkable and addresses safety concerns should we ever be faced with an emergency."
The new exit and entrance will allow the College to host larger community events at the campus, as previously event size was limited due to possible traffic congestion on the current single-access road.
The new road will be constructed on College property and any affected bike and walking trails will be rebuilt, as was done following the construction of the student housing buildings.
Safety will continue to be a priority once construction is completed, with the installation of streetlights, CCTV, crosswalks, speed bumps, and narrowing of the road.
"We have worked closely with the City's engineering department and appreciate the City's support of this project. We were pleased that it fits into the City's Official Community Plan," Knibbs said. "With 200 students now living on campus, the College has become another vibrant hub for residents in our community."
Prior to sending the project out to tender through BC Bids, members of the Ktunaxa Nation were invited to perform a blessing on the site. Bids are being evaluated and construction is anticipated to begin before the end of October.
Learn more about College of the Rockies at cotr.ca
