Calgarians sound alarm over controlled blasting at ring road site

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — It’s one of the most important infrastructure projects in Calgary, but residents in the southwest are expressing concerns over the effects it is having on their quality of life.

Construction on the SW leg of the ring road is continuing, and in the latest stage controlled explosions are being done near the community of Cougar Ridge.

According to contractors, the blasts are required in order to remove about 20 metres of bedrock several metres under the surface of the ground.

“Controlled blasting is the managed use of explosives to break rock for excavation. Controlled blasting involves drilling holes into the rock and placing charges below ground at planned locations,” said a statement on the West Calgary Ring Road website.

WATCH: Contractor video shows example of controlled blast

It is assured that the excavation is happening far below homes and at a safe distance away, to mitigate any impacts.

But people living in Cougar Ridge say they are feeling the shockwaves anyway.

“I don’t think of myself as a dramatic person, but it brought me to tears it was so scary,” said Kelley Curtain, who has lived in the area for five years. “The creaking of the windows and the rattling of the doors. It was so violent.”

“It feels like dynamite is literally going off in the house every time.”

WATCH: Video from Kelley Curtain showing controlled blast near her SW home

Curtain said one neighbour nearly fell down a set of stairs when a blast went off before the holidays, and students at a nearby school even reported water bottles falling off of desks as a result of the blasts.

In addition, one person told Curtain there are now cracks in their walls.

“And that’s what we can see, not what we can’t see in the foundation.”

Emails to government officials also talk about rodent concerns, as the blasts are driving moles and voles on to properties. The province has added that animal traps are set up to prevent any sort of invasion.

Also, while it is less of an issue in the winter, Curtain said dust is also rising up from the construction site.

“My breathing has been impacted, I can hear my daughter wheezing all the time. I worry that the dust, once the snow is gone, is going to get really bad,” she said.

In a statement from the office of Transportation Minister Ric McIver, it is written that the blasting is “generally done Monday-Saturday around 4pm while most residents are still at work but school has ended for the day.”

However, Curtain said there were blasts at two points in the day — in the morning and then the afternoon.

“All blasts are monitored and recorded by seismographs adjacent to the properties,” the statement from Alberta Transportation continued. “To date, 32 detonations have been completed without issue.”

A statement sent to Curtain and another concerned resident, Susan Wishart, from a provincial engineer in charge of the project provided further details.

“The controlled blasting operations on the Paskapoo Slopes are being conducted and monitored by industry experts, McCaw’s Drilling and Blasting (blast contractor), and Explotech Engineering (blast consultant engineers), who specialize in urban blasting and have decades of experience in similar projects,” writes Project Manager Subir Choudhury.

“We appreciate the discomfiting nature of the noise and vibrations caused by the blasting and want to assure you that the data from the seismographs indicates all blasts conducted so far are below the levels required to cause damage.”

“There will be at least one blast Monday through Saturday for most of next year. Depending on the schedule and the fluid nature of construction, there may be a need to blast on Sundays as well.”

Choudhury also ensures that “industry-standard” processes are being followed in regard to monitoring the amount of dust rising from the site.

The blasting is currently on hold though, as Alberta Transportation noted they received some complaints after an explosion on Dec. 17. It is expected the explosions will resume in mid-January, following an information session.

That session will be on Jan. 11 at the Markin MacPhail Centre in Winsport between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

There have been information sessions held before, and Curtain said she does not expect much from this one.

“We all leave as neighbours with different pieces of information, and as we talk about it after the fact, we’re putting more and more information together. They have us fill out these surveys and these questionnaires with our concerns, nothing ever happens with them. We don’t get answers, we don’t get follow-up,” Curtain said.

“Communication has been dismal. We have been blindsided by everything that has happened.”

To this point, any promises about the blasting have limited effect on life in the area is being met with skepticism, and Curtain said they now have long-term concerns about the consequences.

“I’m worried that our home isn’t going to be the same when it’s done.”