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VICTORIA - East Kootenay residents will
benefit from $270,300 to improve travel and safety conditions on several Forest
Service roads (FSRs), Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell, Community
Development Min ster Kevin Krueger and Tourism, Culture and the Arts Minister
Bill Bennett announced today.
"These Forest Service road improvements will provide important
access to extensive recreation opportunities for British Columbians," said
Bennett. "As an important draw for tourists who covet B.C.'s backcountry,
it's critical to the local tourism economy that these extensive roads are
maintained."
The maintenance will occur over approximately 356 kilometres of Forest
Service roads and the works include brushing, ditching, surface grading and
packing.
Gray
Creek, Redding Creek, and St. Mary's Lake FSRs provide a more direct, but
rugged, link between Kootenay Lake and Kimberley. Pilot Bay FSR provides access
from Highway 3A to Pilot Point Provincial Park, on the shores of Kootenay Lake.
The
Bugaboo and Spillimacheen North FSRs, near Spillimacheen on the Columbia River,
provide access to rural residences and numerous recreation sites, including
Bugaboo Provincial Park. The Horsethief and Horsethief-Forster FSRs, near
Radium, provide access to numerous recreation sites.
The
Findlay and Whitetail Lake FSR, west of Canal Flats, provide access to a
children's camp and recreation sites. The Whiteswan Lake and Lussier FSRs, east
of Canal Flats, provide access to Whiteswan Lake Provincial Park, Lussier Hot
Springs and Top of the World Provincial Park. The Bull River and Galbraith
Creek FSRs, east of Cranbrook, provide access to various recreation sites.
"We want to ensure that crucial Forest
Service Roads that connect rural communities, as well as parks and recreation
areas, receive the maintenance needed to keep those communities
accessible," said Bell.
"Communities in the Kootenays 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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