I am a regular user of Highway 97 South with a round trip commute of over 100 miles every day. Of the twenty-plus years I have been traveling the highway, or any highway for that matter, the road conditions on Highway 97 South this past Thursday, November 8th, rate among the worst I have ever seen; they were absolutely deplorable.
The snowfall the previous night had been left unattended and after mild temperatures the melted snow froze, resulting in a two-to-three inch layer of glare ice that would compare with our local ice rinks. There was no evidence of snow ploughing or sand on the road. I did meet a sand truck heading south from Prince George at 7:30 a.m. This was far too late to make the road safe for morning commuters.
Furthermore, I have also noticed, that every time snow falls on this highway, it is in a much worse state from Prince George to Stone Creek than from Stone Creek south, from which point the highway is 100 per cent better maintained. I registered a complaint last year about winter maintenance of this section of road. My concerns were acknowledged with a phone call, but little changed in how poorly this road is serviced. There appears to be no accountability for the state that the road was in on November 8th, and other days where road conditions are this poor. It is extremely fortunate there were no accidents, serious injuries, or deaths on Thursday morning.
For days where road maintenance is too difficult to properly attend to, I would rather see the highway shut down, and be temporarily inconvenienced than to have to drive with road conditions that put my life, and the lives of others at risk.
Trevor Joyce
Prince George
