News Release - Town Of Viking Terminates Road Maintenance Agreement with County
BEAVER COUNTY, AB. — The Town of Viking has served Beaver County with notice to discontinue road maintenance and future upgrades on Township Road 480 and Range Road 130.
In 2020, the County and the Town entered into an agreement for the County to provide grading and snow plowing services on short sections of Township Road 480 and Range Road 130, which fall within the Town’s jurisdiction.
Since the majority of these roads lie within the County, it was more efficient and cost-effective for the County to maintain the entire stretch, rather than both municipalities dispatching separate equipment. The Town paid for its share of the maintenance costs.
Under the agreement, the Town is also responsible for contributing to future upgrades on its sections of the roads. This includes applying a hard surface to Township Road 480 and either a shoulder pull or hard surfacing on Range Road 130.
In 2017, when the County upgraded Township Road 480 to a hard surfaced road, it absorbed the Town’s share of the cost ($28,750) as the Town was unable to contribute at the time.
In 2023, Township Road 480 was rechipped, and the Town fulfilled its cost-sharing commitment for the work.
However, in 2025, the Town expressed concerns about the agreement and declined to pay the County’s invoice for maintenance and future upgrades. Following ongoing discussions between the two municipalities, the Town notified the County of its intent to terminate the agreement.
At its regular meeting on June 16, 2025, Viking Town Council passed the following motion:
"That Council, by motion, directs Administration to send a 60-day notice to Beaver County, indicating the termination of the shared service agreement for road maintenance on Twp Rd 480 and Rge Rd 130, as described in clause 23 'Termination' of the agreement, and requests the return of remaining funding allocated for capital upgrades."
The termination will be effective 60-days after the formal notice has been received. After that date, each municipality will maintain and upgrade its own portion of the roads.
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