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VICTORIA – Residents of northern Vancouver Island will benefit from more than $550,000 to improve travel and safety conditions on the Winter Harbour, Mitchell Bay and San Josef Forest Service roads, Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell and Community Development Minister Kevin Krueger announced today.
“For many people on northern Vancouver Island, Forest Service roads are
often an integral part of their community’s infrastructure,” said Bell. “Keeping those roads open
and safe is essential to the stability and economy of these smaller, rural
communities.”
The Winter Harbour Forest Service
road, locally known as South 730, is used to access Winter Harbour. Improvements
to the road will include brushing, ditching, culvert repairs and replacement,
spot surfacing, grading and new signage. The funding will also allow replacement
of a failing wood bridge with a seven-metre permanent concrete bridge.
The Mitchell Bay Forest Service road on Malcolm Island connects the community of Mitchell Bay to Vancouver Island via the B.C. Ferry Terminal at Sointula. Improvements to this road will include capping it with two-inch minus gravel to make the road surface safer.
The San Josef Forest Service road is 13 kilometres long and connects Holberg to Cape Scott Provincial
Park. Work will include ditching, brushing, spot
graveling and grading and replacing failing culverts.
“Communities on Northern
Vancouver Island have told this government they value the economic and social
opportunities that come from having a stronger road network,” said Krueger. “We
listened and are taking action to strengthen the connection between isolated
communities and city centres. In addition, the improvements will allow more visitors
seeking adventure in Cape Scott to experience the beauty of this region.”
British Columbia’s 55,000-kilometre network of Forest Service roads is bigger than the provincial highway system. As first announced by Premier Gordon Campbell at the 2008 Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, the Ministry of Forests and Range is providing $20 million over two years to improve travel conditions on Forest Service roads that serve as crucial transportation links for rural communities and recreation sites. The Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada committed on April 7, 2009, to a further $20 million in shared funding for additional Forest Service road upgrades that will be announced in the coming months.
New road maintenance funding is the latest in a series of initiatives to improve safety on Forest Service roads, which include the establishment of radio protocols, speed enforcement through the expanded use of radar guns, and the expansion of the Vehicle Identification Plates Program.
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Public Affairs Officer Ministry of Forests and Range 250 387-4592 |
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For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
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