Updates and background on the work we do to maintain and rehab BC bridges and highways during the spring, summer and fall.
Do you own property along a BC highway? If you do, you may have some questions about driveway culverts and culvert maintenance. You’ve come to the right place. Whether you are constructing a new driveway culvert, or you have a pre-existing driveway culvert that needs replacing or maintenance, it’s your responsibility to make sure it is big enough, installed correctly and functioning properly. Just like many other aspects of home ownership, maintenance is key, especially in the case of...
No, we aren’t making jackets for cold little seals, although that is a nice thought – isn’t it? Sealcoating is actually a common type of road resurfacing done on BC highways. It involves the application of a special mixture to the road that protects the road base from additional wear and tear. So it’s kind of like a little jacket, but for roads. When it’s applied over existing pavement, sealcoating is a really cost-effective way of resurfacing that extends...
How do you clear the roads when the amount of snowfall over 36 hours amounts to the height of the average Canadian adult? You get creative, and look to the ski hills. When 168 cm (5’6”) of snow fell in the Terrace-Kitimat area between February 5 and 7 (4pm-4am, 2015), local maintenance contractor Nechako Northcoast brought in heavy equipment from outside, such as graders, loaders, and three snowcats. Typically used on ski hills, these cool cats are designed to...
Rockfalls tend to happen more often in spring, when slopes above highways can be affected by changing temperatures and increased rainfall. The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure’s Rockwork Program uses a variety of techniques to keep rock and debris off highways. But rockfalls are a natural process and cannot always be prevented. In those cases, the ministry and its maintenance contractors spring into action to ensure the highway is cleared and safe for travellers. Reporting a Rockfall Maintenance Contractors...
What has three colours of flashing lights and travels up to 80 kilometres an hour on B.C. highways while simultaneously gathering more than 10,000 measurements per second? It’s ARAN – the Automatic Road Analyzer! The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure hires this super specialized van (and the people who operate it and the equipment) to gather information about the condition of provincial highways and roads. The vehicle is kitted out with loads of technology, like laser reflectometers, computers, accelerometers,...
Ever hear of a kineograph? We hadn’t until now, but we knew about the more common term for the same thing: a “flip book”. You’ve probably seen them before – a thick book filled with pictures that seems to come alive when you flip through the pages. It may seem like a primitive form of entertainment now, but back in the day, it was the equivalent of a home theater system, without the surround sound, of course. What do...
VSA is the maintenance contractor that looks after highways around Lytton and Merritt, including the Coquihalla. They’re always on the lookout for ways to improve how they do things, and they recently found a new way to keep the highways clean. The machine they’ve developed was made in partnership with Tanguay, a company from Quebec. It’s called the SA 150, and it’s basically a super sweeper, allowing VSA to sweep highways faster with less impact to traffic. Just how...
Parked along the highway, abandoned vehicles can be eerie, mysterious, even menacing…. You can’t help but wonder…what happened to the occupants? What is the story behind the vehicle left behind? Whenever the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure employees or contractors spot (or hear of) an unoccupied vehicle roadside, our first thought is safety. If the abandoned vehicle is in any part of a lane, or in the way of snow removal equipment, it’s a danger to traffic and will...
