The Drumheller Resiliency and Flood Mitigation Office held a virtual community engagement on Thursday, January 13 to provide additional information and details on the Downtown Dike and Riverside Drive project.

Panelists included project director Deighen Blakely, Downtown Dike project manager Julia Tarnowski with SweetTech Engineering, Drumheller Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Darryl Drohomerski.

“The proposed dike will provide protection for approximately 70 homes, four multi-unit residential buildings, two commercial buildings, and five community buildings–the Badlands Community Facility (BCF), Aquaplex, visitor’s information centre, Drumheller Memorial Arena, and the curling club,” Ms. Tarnowski explained during the meeting.

The entire Downtown Dike project will be split into two phases–from the Aquaplex and Riverview Terrace, and from Riverview Terrace to the intersection of Riverside Drive and 5 St E, better known as Schumacher’s corner.

Tendering for the first phase is expected to be let between February and April 2022, with the second phase tendered later in 2022; construction on the first phase is expected to wrap up by the end of June while the second phase will continue through late summer and fall.

While there is enough land to create a meandering, park-like system through Centennial Park, there are some considerable land constraints along Riverside Drive between Riverview Terrace and Schumacher’s Corner. Several alignment options were considered for this section, including extending the berm into the Red Deer River, making no changes to Riverside Drive, and various changes to the traffic flow on Riverside Drive.

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