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QUESNEL – Residents will
benefit from more than $112,500 to improve travel and safety conditions on
several area Forest Service roads, Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell and Community
Development Minister Kevin Krueger announced today.
“Rural
communities have identified safe road access into their communities as an
important part of their rural economic development plans,” said Bell.
The $112,500 will be used for grading, ditching and
brushing where required on 154.5 kilometres of Forest Service roads in the
Quesnel forest district. Forest Service roads scheduled for this maintenance
include Kruger Lake, Tzenaicut Lake and Tzen Ramsey, Tzenaicut-Garner,
Tzenaicut-Weier, Michelle-Coglistiko, Michelle-Baezaeko, Michelle-Morris,
Snaking River and Tautri Creek.
“Communities in the
Cariboo have told this government they value the economic and social
opportunities that come from having a stronger road network. We listened and we
are taking action to strengthen the connection between isolated communities and
city centres,” said Krueger. “Whether it’s accessing health care, exploring new
mineral opportunities or opening new regions to tourism, the benefits of this
investment will strengthen the region as a whole.”
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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