What it Takes to Keep Bridges Upstanding and Safe

Bridge Area Managers keep 2,973 bridges (plus tunnels, retaining walls, culverts and overhead signs) upstanding and safe, in British Columbia. The job offers a great deal of autonomy but that comes with a far greater responsibility, as bridge failures are almost always a catastrophic event. The work requires bridge area managers to get wet, to work in enclosed spaces or from high ledges and to clamber, climb and crawl in all sorts of weather conditions. Documentation and deductive reasoning are part of the job.

Adding Drains to the Floodplain to Keep Motorists Safe

At the March 2016 project open house, many local folks voiced concerns about the volume of water that sometimes saturates the area. When we tested different high water scenarios, using a hydraulic model, we recognized that the new section of road would actually need 11 large flood relief culverts, and the bridge would have to be five metres longer to accommodate the Tsolum River when things got extra wet.