Provincial officials were pressed by regional represenatives this week to improve winter road maintenance through a critical stretch of Highway 97.
On Thursday (Jan. 28), Katherine Styba and Darrell Gunn from B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation appeared before the Peace River Regional District (PRRD) to answer questions about the Pine Pass spurred by complaints and concerns about worsening road conditions during winter.
“I actually gave up asking questions. I’ve been hung up on and told that nothing has changed, so I don’t even know what else to say. The road through the Pine Pass I’ve been driving for decades and the winter maintenance has been quite nasty, last winter as well as this winter,” said Fort St. John Mayor Lori Ackerman.
“We’ve got people who are experienced driving through the Pine Pass that have indicated that the conditions of the road are really bad. In fact, there was a delay with the first [Site C] turbine coming up because the conditions of the road were so bad that the vehicle couldn’t make it up one of the hills.”
“I try to avoid it, and it’s just really sad because we’ve got young families that have to get down there for medical situations and this is our connection to the rest of British Columbia, and I think it should be maintained," Ackerman said.
The Pine Pass is located roughly 200 km north of Prince George.
Chetwynd Mayor Allen Courtoreille said, at times, the road is impassable for regular vehicles, sharing a recent incident involving his in-laws who were driving home from a medical appointment in the northern capital.
“Their son was following, they came up the hill and didn’t make it up the hill," Courtoreille said. "The first vehicle went through, the second one ended up a 30-foot drop down the bank. The conditions [...] were about the same time the turbine was coming through.
“[Our safety] is very low when we see these kind of conditions," he said.
Highway 97 through the Pine Pass is designated a Class A highway, which the province says is its highest standard for winter maintenance.
Under the standards, the highway must be cleared to bare pavement within 24 hours of a snowfall, when the pavement temperature is -9 C or warmer.
Ackerman said she has noticed a significant change since a change in contractors in 2019.
"If the technical aspects of the contracts have not changed, then the only thing that I can assume is your new contractor has a different interpretation of those technical aspects," Ackerman said.
“I’m not sure if the condition of this highway would be acceptable to a Class A highway in the lower mainland, or anywhere else in this province," she said.
Styba, the ministry manager for the Peace district, acknowledged some difficulties since new contractors took over maintenance duties in the region.
“There have been some hiccups along the way and some growing pains, and definitely a steep learning curve. But that aside, we’re working towards not having the situations that you’re talking about,” Styba said. “It’s difficult for me to hear that. But it's also a part of what we do, taking information from public figures such as yourself as well as members of the public and really trying to incorporate that in our maintenance response and trying to do a better job moving forward."
Both Styba and Gunn said the Pine Pass is a difficult route to maintain in the winter because of its cold temperatures and wind, as well as the tightness of the road. Gunn, who took over as executive director for the ministry's northern region last August, said recent temperatures in the pass have been colder than -9 C, which has limited maintenance.
"I did get to experience it last week going over in snowstorm and going back on some icy compact conditions," he said. "I can understand the frustration of that because I did have to slow down and it took me a while to get over."
Gunn said the ministry reviews the contractor performance across the province twice a year.
A full review of the Peace district would be completed before the 10-year contract goes out to retender later this decade.
"We always want to do better and we can be better, and we’ll always strive to be better, even beyond what the contract specifications say," Gunn said.
Tumbler Ridge Coun. Joanne Kirby suggested the ministry increase its budget.
“We are very used to travelling on roads that are not Class A, so when you get to a Class A road, it would be nice that it was a little bit different than what we started on,” Kirby said. “The contractors are always saying they’re working within their budgets. So maybe that’s an issue because winter in the north is a lot longer than in the south."
Ackerman suggested the ministry collect feedback from highway user groups as well as the public when it reviews contractor performance.
"When you ask these questions, you have to be brave and hear what is impacting the residents who use the highways," Ackerman said. "I’ve been driving that highway for decades. This particular contract has been significantly different."
Electoral Director Karen Goodings said contractors were doing good work with some areas that need improvement, but she also noted concerns about the lack of equipment.
“It seems their like graders were spread out very thinly, their sanding trucks also were spread out very thinly," Goodings said.
But drivers must also take personal responsibility on the roads, Goodings added.
"It's really important that people recognize that while road maintenance is important, so is it important that driver responsibility comes into play,” Goodings said. "We still have too many drivers that drive too fast. They put their vehicle in four-wheel drive, they think they can go anywhere, anytime, and they sometimes get into trouble, which creates trouble for everybody else."
Hudson’s Hope Mayor Dave Heiberg said the Pine Pass is an even more essential connection to Prince George now that Central Mountain Air has suspended flights from Fort St. John.
He said highway contractors around Hudson’s Hope have been doing a good job, with no complaints except for a slow startup at the start of the year when there was heavy snowfall.
“I think they thought it was just going to melt away, and nobody could get anywhere. They should have been up and acted a little sooner,” Heiberg said. “But after a couple phone calls I think they got the message, and things are looking better.”
Electoral Director Dan Rose said he has sensed a level of frustration from ministry staff about the tools they have to enforce oversight of its contractors. Calls to the ministry are often unfavourable conversations as he is passing along criticism being heard from constituents, he said.
“It forces them onto a defensive mode when they take complaints rather than being more objective to them," Rose said. "That’s unfortunate because I believe they run into that in terms of frustration and how they make a difference."
He added: "I’ve lived here my whole life and the problems don’t change that much. We have a lack of consistency as far as how we do our maintenance, even within the same company. When you cross boundaries of different areas, the conditions can change, you can draw a line in the road.
"Those are the kinds of things that are frustrating to people," he said. "It seems like we’re reactive not proactive."
