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VICTORIA – Local residents
will benefit from more than $55,000 to improve travel and safety conditions on
several area Forest Service roads, Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell and
Community Development Minister Kevin Krueger.
“Forest Service roads in rural areas often form an
integral part of the local infrastructure,” said Bell. “For that reason,
government is providing funding to help maintain these critical roads.”
The $55,400 will be used for grading, ditching and
brushing where required on 84.5 kilometres of Forest Service roads in the 100
Mile House forest district. Roads scheduled for this maintenance include
Sheridan West, Tatton-Canama, Egan-Bonaparte, Wilcox-Dempsey Lake, Maze Lake,
Maze-Forbes Creek and Boss-Canim Forest Service roads. These roads provide
access to local recreation sites and trails as well as access to over 160 rural
residences.
“These Forest Service Roads are used as an important
link for about 150 residents in the region around 100 Mile House,” said
Krueger. “Improvements to these roads will provide safer access
for residents as well as visitors to many remote recreational sites. The provincial government is pleased to provide the funds needed to ensure
that these roads are safe for the people in our rural communities.”
British Columbia’s 55,000-kilometre network
of Forest Service roads is bigger than the provincial highway system. As first
announced by Premier Campbell at the 2008 Union of B.C. Municipalities
convention, the Ministry of Forests and Range is providing $20 million to
improve travel conditions on Forest Service roads that serve as crucial
transportation links to 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
expanded use of radar guns, and the expansion of the Vehicle Identification
Plates Program.
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contact: |
Public Affairs Officer Ministry of Forests and Range 250 387-4592 |
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