The ABCs of Winter Highway Classification and Maintenance

winter maintenance snow plow
Want to go for a snow plow ride along? Click on image.

Our maintenance contractors work hard every day to keep BC highways safe and traffic moving smoothly. Because British Columbia is a geographically diverse province, our contractors can face any number of unique challenges where highway maintenance is concerned, especially in winter. In order to make sure they understand exactly what is expected of them in their day to day operations, we outline our maintenance requirements in detail. Part of that detail involves classifying provincial highways to prioritize how and when they are maintained.

Winter Maintenance Classifications and What They Mean

BC highways are classified A, B, C, D, E & F and are maintained in that order.

Class “A” roads are higher volume, higher speed routes. These are the main interprovincial highways and commuter routes throughout the province and they generally have over 5,000 (or more) vehicles per day travelling on them during the winter. These routes are our first priority during a winter storm event, and you will see our contractor’s resources there first. Highway 1, 3, 5, 16, and 97 are examples of class A roads.

Class “B” roads are all other numbered highways and busier sideroads. These tend to be numbered highways that are regionally important and have 1,000-5,000 vehicles per day during the winter, but don’t act as main interprovincial highways or busy commuter routes. Good examples are Highway 35 from to Francois Lake, Highway 28 to Gold River or Mount Baldy Road.

Class “C” roads include school bus routes to safety get those kids to and from school safety, larger volume industrial routes, and busier sideroads. These tend to be the main collector roads in subdivisions and where larger trucks and buses operate.

Class “D” roads are subdivision sideroads with residents. Chances are, if you live rurally in BC and are not on a school bus route, you live on a Class D road.

Class “E” roads are very low volume and generally get plowed a few times a year, as needed.

Class “F” roads are not maintained in the winter at all. Roads classified as “F” might be maintained for summer traffic but have no need for winter access, or these may just be roads that aren’t maintained at all (outside of periodic inspections).

What does that mean for you?  

Well, the higher the classification of road – the more quickly you can expect to see maintenance equipment. During storms, contractor resources, will be focused on getting those higher classification roads cleared, moving to lower classification roads as weather permits (and within the allowable timeframe outlined in our specifications). With over 47, 000 km of roads to look after across a province as big as BC – they simply can’t get to all of them at the same time. The goal of this system is to have the best conditions on the routes with the most “road kilometers” driven.

During storms, the focus is to keep these main routes open, safe and flowing. Our maintenance contractors put all their equipment into action to make sure that our highways remain safe. They also continuously update road condition information on DriveBC, so you can know what to expect before you go. After a storm, they review their performance to make sure they can provide the best service possible in the next bout of nasty weather.

Can highway classifications change?

Yes. If a route becomes more popular or sees an increase in commercial traffic, we may upgrade its classification and increase highway operations on that route. It’s all about safety. Changes like this mean an increase in the maintenance commitment, resulting in more frequent patrols and quicker response times, and more plowing, snow removal, and salt and sand applications.

How can I find out what my road class is?

Want to find out the winter classification of a road in your area? You can do that.

The Province of B.C. has created a web app called iMapBC, which allows you to search the winter classification of our routes, among many other tidbits of important provincial info. Here’s how:

1.Navigate to iMapBC at https://maps.gov.bc.ca/ess/hm/imap4m/
2. Select the “Data Sources” tab
3. Choose “Add Provincial Layers” button. A pop-up screen will appear asking you to add or remove information. Scroll down to and select “Transportation”
4. Scroll to “Ministry of Transportation – Linear Inventory” and choose/select
5. Scroll to “Road Maintenance Class Winter – MoT” and choose/select
6. Click Okay to close pop-up screen.
7. Underneath the Data Sources tab, you will see a “My Layers” button. Select this tab.
8. “Road Maintenance Class Winter – MoT” should appear with a check mark in the box beside it.
9. To the right of this check mark is a small bullet list icon. Click/select this icon and the legend of Winter Classification letters, corresponding colours and details should appear underneath the layer title.
10. Zoom into the area you are looking for on the map to the right to view the colour for your desired roadway (Hint: you might have to scroll down to a very high level to see the corresponding colour).
11. If you do not see a colour revealed on a roadway, that road does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and you should follow up with the local municipality for more information.

Meanwhile, this interactive map shows service area boundaries.

Phew. That’s a lot of info, we know, but we hope it’s helpful. If you found this information interesting, you might also like to check out a few of our other, related blogs:

What questions about winter highway maintenance or highway classification do you have? Let us know in the comments below or connect with us on Twitter or Facebook. We look forward to talking with you.

  • BC Highway Maintenance Contracts have changed! Learn more 
Share this page:SharingFacebookTwitterLinkedInCopy Text

Join the discussion

Leave a Comment