It’s been a long winter, and the white stuff is still on the ground in some parts of the province. But take heart! Spring is finally here, and so comes a little “housekeeping” to keep things in order. What do you include in your spring cleaning checklist? Windows? Closets? Garage? Behind the bed? Under the stove? Well, we also have a list of to-do’s, but it looks a little different than yours. Here are a few things on our...
Customer service is a major part of what we do at the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. From maintaining highways to handling development approvals, our goal is to provide the best service we can. Of course, there’s always room for improvement. That’s why we’re asking you to help make us better by taking our 16th annual Customer Satisfaction Survey, open from July 22 to September 30. Last year, we received more than 3,350 responses from folks across the province, including 345 face-to-face...
We’ve heard from a few folks recently asking how they can travel the Coquihalla safely during the winter. Apart from our usual recommendations for proper tires, checking DriveBC, keeping a full tank of gas and driving to conditions, we thought we could help travellers make better decisions around their travel by identifying some of the winter conditions found on the Coquihalla and explaining how they might impact travel. So, we asked our Weather Services Specialist, Simon Walker (who worked...
The hustle. The sweat. The pressure to be the best… Commercial vehicle inspectors put their safety sense to the test at the 2016 CVSE Inspectors’ Challenge in Victoria, BC, June 13-17, 2016. The annual competition places seven CVSE inspectors under intense scrutiny in timed events, each competitor striving to show he or she is the sharpest at detecting hazardous vehicles, loads and drivers. The inspectors competed in four main competitions: Truck and trailer inspection, including driver; Dangerous goods inspection,...
It’s the filling in the sandwich, the shiny buckle on the belt, the diamond pendant on the necklace… We’re talking about three kilometres of Highway 97, just south of Prince George that we’ll transform into four lanes from two lanes, and link with recently improved four-lane sections. The stretch starts just north of Stone Creek Bridge (about 25 kilometres south of Prince George) and connects at Williams Road, north of the CN Rail bridge. Like most centrepieces, the area...
BC Highway 5 from Hope to Merritt (also known as the Coquihalla or “the Coq”) is a busy transportation corridor through a high mountain pass, and because of this high elevation, the Coquihalla can experience periods of heavy snowfall. Don’t let that worry you though – VSA Highway Maintenance, our maintenance contractor for the route, has a plan. It’s called “the Coquihalla Snowshed Protocol” and it’s every bit as important as it sounds. What exactly is the protocol and...
APRIL 26, 2016 UPDATE: The new McKenzie interchange will be built as a partial cloverleaf reflecting the preferred option of 75% of those who participated in the public consultation, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Todd Stone announced today. Here they are: three concepts for the future McKenzie Interchange on the Trans-Canada Highway. We’ve determined that all three concepts are technically doable and meet the project goals of reducing congestion, improving safety and increasing reliability. What do you think is the...
What a view! High above Bridge River, crews are putting the finishing touches on a new 17.5-metre-long, two-lane bridge to replace a deteriorating retaining wall on Road 40. The road is a crucial link between Lillooet and Gold Bridge, frequented by locals, tourists, commercial truck drivers and those from the forest and energy industries. Ministry staff shot this aerial footage of the work last month. The new bridge is expected to be open at the end of September 2015.
If you’ve ever driven down a mountain pass in British Columbia, you’ve likely looked up in awe at an off ramp rising up, up, up into… well, apparently nowhere. As the signs state, that is a runaway lane. In other words, it’s the road less travelled that you do not want to have to take. But, if you ever find yourself out of control down a hill, it’s the road you will be more than relieved to see. BC’s...
The South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR) is a new major provincial highway, and building it triggered travel pattern changes. Many of the original signs show local street names to help drivers with navigating the new highway and side road connections. Since opening the highway, about 18 months ago, we’ve been gathering feedback from you. Much of that feedback has to do with challenges understanding these signs. We heard you, and we’re using your input to make changes. Using your...
