Mainroad Group is a road maintenance company in Western Canada operating in British Columbia and Alberta including the Red Deer and Central Alberta area. In the winter, you may see Mainroad crews salting or brining the highways before a storm. In the summer, construction season kicks into high gear and there is a lot of work and repair to get done. 

“We do paving work, line painting, vegetation control, crack sealing, spray patching, and then obviously some more work related to the infrastructure itself like bridgework, bridge repairs, and bridge washing,” said Leon Wasserfall, General Manager for Mainroad Alberta Contracting. 

Although running into construction during the summer may be infuriating or at times, stressful, it’s important to remember that at the end of the day everyone wants to get home safely including those working on the roads. 

“As we come into the summer season, construction season really ramps up and construction activities are happening out on the highway. We want all our crews and the traveling public to be safe. When you're approaching the cone zone or a construction zone, we ask that the motorists slow down lookout for our roadside tools, drive with caution, and please obey all traffic control measures,” explained Wasserfall. 

Construction zones not only keep those working on the roads safe, but those driving on the roads safe as well. 

“Obviously, there's a very specific reason why we want traffic to slow down when they're in or approaching a construction zone. There's large pieces of equipment our crews working on the roadside or within the construction zones as well. We want to make sure that everybody driving through these construction zones are safe so they can get to go back to their families at the end of the day. We want to avoid any and all possible accidents or incidents out on the highways which is why there's specific traffic control measures being put in place while doing construction out on highways,”

This year, Wasserfall says a few incidents have been reported by crews working on the roads, but thankfully, nothing too serious so far. 

“There's been a few near misses that's been reported within our own crews working out on highways where vehicles are speeding through construction zones, not paying attention. That obviously puts our crews as well as the traveling public at risk. Fortunately, within our own operating company, we haven’t had any serious incidents or accidents,” said Wasserfall.  

Before heading out on the road Wasserfall recommends checking local road conditions with various apps and online tools. 

“In general, before heading out this summer, we advise motorists to be prepared. Before you leave, check in with 5-1-1 Alberta and also download the Alberta Transportation's Wildfire mobile app to stay up to date with any changing road conditions.  If you want you can follow us on Twitter as well @MainRoadAlberta for any specific updates to construction works happening within our service areas,” he added.  

You can also check out local road conditions, by clicking this link.