Information of interest to commuters, tourists and recreational drivers in rural and urban BC.
Much like naively donning shorts and a t-shirt at the slightest sign of spring, the temptation to swap out winter tires can be strong. But be careful: the consequences of prematurely exposing Vitamin-D deprived skin pales in comparison to facing severe winter weather with unsuitable summer treads. Let’s face it, Old Man Winter doesn’t care what our calendar claims. He’s been known to revel in pranking people travelling through mountain passes on April 1 (yes, April Fools’ Day), the...
Winter doesn’t mess with the Lower Mainland all too often. But when it does, our maintenance efforts go beyond the standard plowing and sanding of highways. Our attention is also drawn skyward to the cables on the Alex Fraser Bridge and Port Mann Bridge. Snow and ice can build up around the cables that support the bridges, becoming a safety hazard to traffic below if left to freeze, melt and potentially fall. To combat the risk, we developed cable...
Picture these cute Star Wars-looking devices standing guard on the cliffs above, as you drive along the western end of Highway 16. They’re watching over motorists (just like we are) and are ready to (upon our command) remove snow from above to keep you travelling safely to your destination.
Have you ever driven through a signed construction speed zone with no workers in sight and thought, “Why the heck do I have to slow down if there’s nothing happening?” It’s a question we get now and again on our social platforms – including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram – so we decided to explain how speed management works when it comes to roadway construction zones. Let us first say this: we understand that speed zones are most effective when...
Ministry staff and our highway maintenance contractors work around the clock to keep travellers on BC highways moving safely, but sometimes extreme weather (or other emergency conditions) create special circumstances that can pose challenges for motorists. When that happens we place a specific travel advisory on DriveBC to help bring attention to the event and help travellers make better plans based on those conditions. We take a number of factors into consideration when we post a travel advisory, such...
We spend a lot of our time working on ways to keep folks safe and sound while travelling BC Highways. Did you know that we also spend a great deal of time looking for ways to help fish, fowl and forest creatures find their way as well? That’s the job of our Environmental Management folks and our Environmental Enhancement Fund (EEF) helps them do that. Created in 2003 to help deliver a wide range of environmentally driven projects on...
A strange thing happens when you’re travelling BC’s highways and you head through Rogers Pass, drive a section of Highway 93, cruise alongside Long Beach near Tofino, or travel Highway 97, 133 kilometres north of Dawson Creek. You see, the ground under your tires changes… You may think that’s provincially owned and operated road beneath you…but it’s not. These stretches of road are owned and operated by the federal government’s Parks Canada Agency, which has a long involvement with the...
We’ve introduced better chain-up regulations for commercial vehicles, which will provide more clarity for professional drivers this winter. That means safer roads, too. The changes come in the wake of one of our worst winters for highway closures. Unprepared commercial trucks caused 41 highway closures because they were either poorly equipped or totally unequipped with chains. In some cases, this was due to the driver’s inability to install the chains properly. Loss of traction in winter conditions leads to...
