After one of the Russell arches crashed to the ground in 2016, the town is finally installing their new steel replacements. 

The first arch was installed on Wednesday and the second yesterday with the rest expected next week, according to Spencer Reavie, the chairperson for the Main Street Revitalization Committee.

“The wooden arches that we reclaimed, one of the arches came down, we decided to take down all the wooden arches. Over the process of some consultation and looking at different options we decided to go with a steel-I beam; it’s a quart and steel. So it gradually weathers over a period of time and it has kind of an orange/ brown colour to it. Much like rust actually. But there’s alloyed in the steel that prevents it from going far past the rust stage.”

The new arches are expected to bring a feeling of wellbeing, something residents can be proud of, and something to draw people into the community.

“We’re like most prairie communities; agriculture is our base economy here. We realized we should diversify. Agriculture seems to be concentrating down to fewer and fewer people that are involved in it. So we need to give people a reason to come into our community and explore as much as possible.”

“Hopefully, in doing that, it will simulate our business community, and draw in more people to open up more business and help the whole community economically.”