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VICTORIA –Residents of southern Vancouver Island will benefit from $315,000 to improve travel and safety on the Hill 60, Nahmint, Minute Creek and Maggie Lake Forest Service roads, Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell and Community Development Minister Kevin Krueger announced today.
“Government
is providing funding to maintain important rural roads that often serve as part
of the local infrastructure,” said Bell. “Keeping these roads safe and open for
visitors and residents is crucial to the economy of these communities.”
The Hill 60 Forest Service road, known locally as Hillcrest Road, branches off Highway 18 west of Duncan. This seven-kilometre gravel resource road provides access to Chemainus River Park and four rural residences. Chemainus River Park is a popular recreation spot in the Duncan area for residents and tourists.
Work on this road will include brushing, culvert replacement or new installation and road side thinning of some trees to make the Hill 60 Forest Service Road safer for residents and users of the Chemainus River Park.
The Nahmint Forest Service road, southwest of Port Alberni, provides public access along the Alberni Canal, Nahmint Lake and Sproat Lake. Upgrades on the Nahmint Main and South Taylor Main branches will provide safer access to Nahmint Lake, Blackie’s Beach and Snow Creek recreation sites. Work will also include the completion of site plans to replace and repair log culverts and bridges on the Nahmint Main and road repairs on South Taylor Main.
The Maggie Lake Forest Service road, northeast of Ucluelet, is a 16-kilometre road providing access to the Macoah First Nation Community, the Salmon Beach Recreational Village, the Toquart Bay Recreation Site and highly popular Barkley Sound. Work on this road will include grading, bridge guardrail replacement and the purchase and installation of safety barriers along the road edge on Maggie Lake Hill.
The Minute Creek Forest Service road southeast of Port Renfrew accesses the Juan de Fuca Marine Provincial Park and its popular hiking trail. Work on this road will include brushing, ditch and culvert maintenance, and road prism repairs. The upgrade will substantially improve sections of the running surface and the drainage on this 3.7-kilometre road.
“These Forest Service Roads are used as a critical link to First Nations
communities and recreational sites,” said Krueger. “Improvements
to these roads will provide
safer access for residents and visitors. We’re pleased that the provincial
government is providing the funds needed to ensure that this road is safe for
the people in our rural communities who rely on it.”
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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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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