Season's Greetings~8J_~("''O°• ..... J&• .... ~.4d&.~~.Be Ministry ofTransportationand HighwaysNewsletterDecember 1997

On theRoadtoMountWashington Page 6

It's work ing

Road Runner December 1997

Welcome Back, Road RunnerFrom the Deputy Ministers

The Road Runnerhas a di fferent look , But these arechanging times

This mon th we give a big tip o f the hard hatto Lo is Do novan-Korte in the minist ry 'sCorrespondence Un it Loi s sho wed realtenacit y in so lving th e case o f a m issing

camera.

It seems a tour ist from the Phi lip pi nes lost

hi s came ra in Vancouver Intern at io nal Airport

during a stopo ver. No t cer ta in who to turn to ,

hi s so n e-ma i led a plea for assista nce to the

min ister 's o ff ice who asked the Lois Donovan-KorteCo rresponde nce Unit to look in to it.

Ordi nari ly find ing lost items at an airpor t is no t pa rt o f th e min ist ry's

daily wo rk , and Ko rt e cou ld have respon ded to t hat effect. Shed id n't . Instead , she co ntac ted t he Vanco uver A irpo rt Lo st and Fou nd .

At fir st she was to ld that no camera fit tin g the descript io n had been

turn ed in

Korte per sisted , and asked th em to d ig th rou gh th ei r reco rds aga inThis time, they st ruck pay d irt ! The ca mera was found and

arra ngeme nts were made for th e tou rist' s so n to identify and co llec tit . Way to go , Loi s!

Staffers wlio tab' llial exIra slep arc lIie UllSW19 heroe: amol19 us, and IIlCydeserve 10 be rl'C09l1ized 1101 ol1 ly lor performil19 a spec ial service [JU t forprovidin91{le{~ i l1d ofexamplet{wl mal~es usproud 10bca pari of 1{l isministryIf you knowsomeol1c W{IOs{lOuld be menliol1ed liereplease lei us {mow, so wecan slwre lIicir stories and join in llieapplc.lUse for a jobWell DlJl1cl

Well Done!

From Minister Lois BooneThe Mini str y o f Transportati on and Highways

plays a very impor tant rol e in help ing Brit ish

Co lumb ians maintain a qu ality lif estyle

A safe and eff ic ient tr ansportati on syste m is

cruc ial to creat ing jo bs, developing our econo my

and providing o ppor tunit ies for all regions o f

Br it ish Co lumbia

The success o f our road t ransportatio n syste m is

a refl ecti on o f the hard work, co mm itment and valuable co nt ribut io ns o fpeo p le wh o work for the Ministry o f Transportati on and Hi gh ways.

I am very p leased to see the Road RUl1 ner is back , because it is anexce llent vehicle to recog nize achieveme nt and to provide news abo ut

the good wor k o f Mini stry sta ff . Welc ome back, Road Runl1er l

Clair Dansereau

Associate Deputy Minister

Blair RedlinDeputy Minister

Govern ment' s prior ities are, o f co urse, dri ving change.

So, to understand why our work is changing, we need

to know what those pri orities are and how we can best

contribute to them. For example, as government

places an increasing emphasis on job s, we need to

prior it ize transportati on investment s that facilitate job

creat ion and econo mic development

A major function o f the Road Runner in the monthsahead will be to provide staff wi th informed reports onministry happenings in the context o f government

objectives It wil l complement , not rep lace, regional

magazines, wh ich are provid ing a valued service.

CoverTop MountWashingtonphoto courtesy ot BCTourism. Bottom: Region 6 staffDoug Gentles project supervisor, EdTownend. manager design and constructron,Wayne Jentsch, design teamleader, andFred Thompson, design staff, on a freld trrpduring early stagesof construction, Photo courtesy of Bruce McGorman, Regron 6,

ContentsResponse to High WaterCrises 3New ExecutiveMembers 4

On the Road to Mount Washington 6

Duke Point 8

Chief Highway Engineer Appointed 10Barnet-Hastings Update 11

Kincolith Road Project 12

Missions from Asia 14TrUCk Safety 15

Facilities Review 16

Public servants face many challenges but none is so

demanding as the challenge o f change.

And just as British Co lumbia society is changing and

evolving rapidly, so too is its government and so too is

the Mini str y of Transportat ion and Highways

In the past few years we have seen significantreduction of headquar ters operations, expansion ofregional responsibil ities, and transfer o f certa in

responsibiliti es to other agencies, as with the transfer

of the Motor Vehicle Branch to ICBC

The Road Runner is produced entirely in-house by the Communications Branch of the Ministry of Transportation and Highways and may not be reprinted orrepublished without permission Leiters or contributions from staff arealways welcomeand should be suomitteo to Betty Nicholson , CommunicationsBranch, Ministry of Transportationand Highways, Fifth Floor, 940 Blanshardst. , Victoria, B.C. V8W 3E6. Phone: (250) 356-0332; Fax (250) 356-7706.

2

Road Runner December] 9Y7

MINISTER THANKS STAFF FOR RALLYING TO THE RESCUE

RESPONSES TO HIGH WATER CRISES PRAISED

Transpo r tat io n

and H ighways

M in ist er Lo is

Boo ne lauded the

ef for ts. "Staf f

reall y put

them selves o ut

and de serve the

gratitud e and

th anks o f everyo ne

in the affected

areas.

Kootenay Region

suf fered a dou b le

whamm y wit h o ne

set o f slide even ts

in mid -Ma rch and

ano ther rou nd in

early lu ne.

The first set o f

p ro bl em s

ste m med fro m the

earl y sno wfall last

win ter. The sno w

formed an

in sulat ing layer so

th at when th e

spring th aw

occurr ed, the

run off went

st raight in to the

gro und , wh ich

became

supe rsaturated

and unstab le The

seco nd set

ste m med fro m the

heavier than normal sno wpacks at higher elevat io ns .

flood events in several com m un it ies in th e area.

Two o f th e most spec tac ular events oc curr ed in th e wake o f

to r rent ial rain s o n lul y II when a majo r washo ut oc curred at

Fir st canyo n o n th e Clearwa ter Valley Roa d , and a slide closed

Hi ghway

Road Runner December 1997

NEW EXECUTIVE MEMBERS

Blair Redlin

Claire Dansereau

W earing two hats has becom e old hat for Blai r Redlin He is current ly deputy ministero f the Mini stry 01Transport ation and Highways as wel l as presid ent o f the BeTransportat io n Financing Autho rity Yet the double duty is logi cal . Ministe r Boon e serves aschair o f the BCTFA board .

Redlin , 41 , join ed MoTH as deputy in February, co ming from the Mini str y o f Employment andInvestment where he'd been three years. sta rt ing as assista nt deputy of poli cy and windin g upas act ing deputy min ister as well as President o f the BCTFA He negotiated the ColumbiaBasin Acco rd on behalf o f the Province, help ed to develop the Columbia Basin Trust. andworked on the lob Strategy for Vancouver Island in respon se to the C OR E report BothInvesting in Our Future - A Planfor BC and Going P/aa's were produced und er his helm He was apar t o f last lanu ary 's Team Canada trade tour to Asia that visited Seoul. Manil a and Bangkok

Born and raised in Calgary, he studied po lit ica l science at the Universit y o f Calgary From 19~7to !l)l)4 , he directed the western region al research department for the Canadian Union ofPublic Employees, based in Burn aby

Red lin th inks it is crit ical not only to make sure Mini str y pri ori ties fit with those o fgovern ment but - and this is most important for sta f f - to help show how the Ministr y cont ributes toove rall gove rnment object ives, such as job creatio n

In his spare time, Redlin enjoys cycling , swimming, travellin g and readin g Canadi an literature is high onhis l ist o f likes, as are. in the field o f non-fiction , the wo rks o f lohn Ralston Sa ul

A ssociate Deputy Mini ster Claire Dansereau is someo ne who likes to get things done. She's ano rganizer, a p lanner and, in shor t, a doer She sees her ro le at MoTH as a fixer o f problems, a personwhose fi rst duty is to make sure Ministr y and gove rn ment goa ls are met while ensuring sta f f feel

comfo rt able in the work enviro nment and secure in what they are doin g. She wants to ensurethat Mini stry act ivit ies help the gove rn ment achieve its overall pri ori ties.

Dansereau spent her youth In Baie-Corneau. PO, before moving to Mon treal where she wasinvol ved in com munity orga nizing. Traveling west. she entered Universit y o f Brit ish Co lum biaand stud ied microbi ol ogy. Afte r graduat ing with fir st-class hon or s, she moved on to studyurban and region al planning, co mb ining her du al int erests o f science and community

She then left academi a to becom e Director o f the Environment Department at the IWA und erlack Munro The lob took her around the count ry, exposing her to the concerns o f work ersand communit ies alike

In 1992 she st ruck

Road Runner December 1997

HAVE VARIED BACI(GROUNDS

A man o f many d iscip lines, Har Singh took ove r in Ap ril as Assistant Depu ty Minister incharge of Management Services He is singularly well qualified for the large tasks athand , having a doctorate in engineering as well as a master 's in business administrat ion Hisexpert ise extends to computer models, whi ch was the sub ject o f his master 's engineeringthesis, and to developin g and overseeing eco no mic mod els and systems used bygovern ments

Prior to jo ining MoTH, Singh was head of analysis and evaluat io n at B.C 's Treasury Board.He has held numerou s senio r posit ions in the provincial govcrnment . includin g Execut iveDirector o f Po licy, Planning and Program Evaluat io n with the Mini str y o f Skills, Training andLabour, economic adv isor to the Premier on federal-prov incial issues, and Directo r o fAnalysis and Systems at the former Econo mic Development Mini str y He has also wor ked fn rthe Albert a government and was seconded to Ottawa for a year with the federal government

Born in the Punjab just prior to the partition o f India, Singh came to Canada in 1l.l611 through ascho larship for the Universit y o f Alberta, and subsequent ly opted to make this country hishom e. It' s a decision, he says, he's never regretted

Har Singh

John Dyble

His assignments included a variety of tr anspor tati on pro jects, mostly co nnected with railw ayso r po rts, in p laces like Mozambique. Cameroon and Bangladesh In his spare time he took anMBA program at UBC, comp leting that in IG87.

When his wife, a physician, had their fi rst child in IY8Y, Dyb le looked fo r a job that wouldn'ttake him away so much fro m hom e, and found it in the provi ncial governm ent

His career has includ ed stints as Director o f Development Regions, Regio nal Director o f theMinist ry o f Small Business, Tourism and Culture in Nanairno. and acti ng Assistant DeputyMinister o f SBTC Prior to joining Mo'Tl i. he was an Execut ive Director at Forest Renewal Be

He was involved with the Freedom to Move initiati ve and was a provincial econo micdevelopment represent ative to the Transport 2021 pro ject . working clo sely with hispredecessor , Bruce Mckeown.

j ohn Dyb les first job with MoT H was surveying the Kispiox-Hazelto n highway in the summer o fjG7G whi le st i ll a student at UBC He rejo ined us in MCl Y when he was appo inted Assistant DeputyMi nister in charge of Planning and Major Pro jects

His appo intment is a measure of his strong ability that has heen tested in bot h the public andprivate sectors

Born and raised in Sardis, the son of an agricultur ist and grand son o f an early Fraser Valleyhop grower who came to Canada from Yorkshire , Dyble. 38, spent the first seven years aftergraduat io n from UBC working as a civi l engineer for Swan Wooster and later Sandwell , bot h inVancouver.

[We sho uldn' t forget the other memb er o f the executive- Dan Doyle, ADM HighwaysOperation s-who is well known to all in the minist ry and requires no introdu ct ion

5

Road Runner December 1997

•••

When the go-ahead for apar tnership wasapproved by theBCTFA board in

The gravel roadremained privateunt il 19':10 Thatyear MoTH spentabo ut $ 1 mi lliono n improvements,but it becamesoo n apparentthat un less morewas done and theroad paved , thefull po tent ial a tthe reso rt wouldnever be realized

onrepresents an irnpo r tant new d irect ionfor the govern ment IJ1 developingtransportati o n infrastr ucture around the

prov ince It' s a di rect ion that stressespart nering. cos t-sharing, and choosinginvestm ents that help create jobs andgenerate wealth fo r the province

The outco me has been a win-win for allconcerned Major impro vemen ts aremade to a publ ic road, which serves aprovincial interest as the access toStrathco na Park The impro vementsspur condo minium and otherdevelopment , whi ch is good fo r theresort . Users o f the road have a safer,smoother ro ute And skiers, who areamong the primar y benefi ciaries. pay anominal $2 surcharge on their lif t fee tohelp pay for the cos ts o f the road

For Geor ge Stuar t. the pro ject was anextensio n o f work he'd done in the late'70s when the ski area opened. ACampbel l River const ruct io n compa nyhe owns put in the first water andsewage system and upgraded thelogging road that had originally beenco nstructed in the late '40s by CrownZelle rbach.

The pro ject, whi ch invo lved realigningsome sections and paving the roadthroughout. was o ne of the BCTFA'sfir st pub lic/private partnerships

Blair Red lin , President o f the BCTFAsays the financing arra ngement

And George Stuart . president o f MountWashington Resort Ltd . attributes thecash-registe r-ringing develop ment inlarge IX1 rt to improvement s to the lo-kilom etre road up the mountain overthe past two years

While the BC Transpor tation FinancingAuth ority financed the $ 16-millionproj ect , the compa ny has agreed to payannual instalments from a surcharge onlift tickets ove r the next 20 years to helpdefray the cos t o f the road ,

Under the agreement, the co mpa ny willcontribute at least 'jOper cent o f thecos ts . But this share could rise to 60per cent ove rall since the instalm entsare based on lif t t icket sales.

Vancouver Island 's premier skiarea at Mount Washington is fastbecom ing a year-rou nd

dest ination for recreat ion seekers

for allSeasons

Ribbon of new road ,now called StrathconaParkway, providesskiers and hikers faster,easier access to themountain resort, in thebackground ,

ARoadMountWas

6

19l14 . the investm ent was seen asstrongly suppo rt ing the econo my o f themid -Island region The design and initialcon st ruction was project managed bylong-time MoTH t'm J-ll oyee Garr yForgaa rd. When Garr y reti red ill May1995, Bruce McGorman took overproject management du ties.

The fir st phase, invol ving grading andpaving over five krn. started with daylabo r in the fall o f 1994 . It wascompleted by Challenge Construct io nLtd under contract the fo llowin g year

The second phase, involv ing grading andpaving over the remainin g 10 krn. in iti allyinvolved Sleepy Holl ow Ltd. o f CampbellRiver, and was completed by Nort hPacif ic Roadb uilders in September IY9b

Of the 10 krn o f Phase 2, six invo lvednew alignments and included th ree krnto avo id an avalanche hazard andstraighten a dangerou s switchbackknown locally as "ICBC co rner."

Though not initially part o f the pro jectscope, two krn o f Nor dic Road , serving anew day lodge, were also recon str uctedand paved

The construct io n cos t had beenest imated at $ 147 million, but onco mp let ion, the project came in at $14mi llion, resulti ng in a $700,000 savingsfo r taxpayers, thanks in part to a uniquevalue engineering exercise

Proje ct supervisor Doug Gent les and thevalue engineering group identified cos tsavings during constructio n byeliminat ing the need for a bin wall.reducing the amo unt o f roadside barrier .and raising the grade at key locationswhich meant there wasn't as muchdrilling and blasting requi red asoriginally plann ed

"Staf f did a very fine job and are to becongratulated for the value engineeringwork they did and for the savings thatwere realized," says Red lin

The project present ed a number o funiq ue environmenta l challenges . Manyof the streams on the mountain feedfish-bearing streams Heavy rains

during construct ion created difficulties,but siltat ion barr iers, fences andsedimentat ion ponds mi tigated theimpact on habitat . MoTH and BCTr-Astaff worked closely with wild lifeand fisheries o ffic ials and localenvironmentalists

Wood wastes fro m the upp ersect ions o f the road wereburned using blowers toproduce an intense tire that wassmokeless and redu cedeverything to fi ne ash Woodwastes from the lower sectionswere hauled to a depleted gravelpit , where they were put int o achipper and the chips thenspread .

George Stuart says the roadimprovement s didn't seem tomake that much o f a differenceto the traffic numbers lastwinter , when the resort receivedabo ut 2,'i00 visitor s per day,rising to 5,000 at peak tim es, whi ch wasabout average

But it was qu ite a different sto ry with ti letraffi c count over summer

He says summers used to bring only ahand ful o f the most intrep id backroads

Continued on Page 8

7

Road Runner December 1997

Section of newalignment underconstruction,above, and thefinished product, below. The roadhas enhanced economic development in northernVancouver Island

Photos courtesy of Bruce McGorman

Road Runner December 1997

New Road Pays Offin Jobs, OpportunitiesContinued from Page 7

explorers. But this summer there weresome days when as many as 1,000visitors came up the mountain in a day.During the Courtenay Youth MusicalFestival. about 300 a day visited theresort , and organizers of the event arealready planning to use the venue againnext summer.

Many of the summer visitors have beenan older crowd , coming to enjoy thescenery or outdoor recreation, such ashiking into Strath cona Park, next doorto the resort.

·We've become a four-season resort:says Stuart . And that has translatedinto local jobs - about 400 in winterand 60 in summer. The economic spin-off to the region is estimated at about$30 million a year.

To date, about $70 million has beeninvested in the ski runs, day lodge ,restaurants , about 500 chalets, andbasic services , including a $4-millionstate-of-the-art sewage treatment plant.

Currently, about 3,000 visitors can beaccommodated on the mountain, butthis number will swell with thecompletion of a 59-unit condominium!hotel that a Vancouver company isbuilding, the first on MountWashington.

Stuart says the resort is investing$600,000 for additions to the day lodgeand $200,000 for a new tubing andtobogganing park . There are plans fortennis courts and perhaps a golf drivingrange.

Road safety has also improved. NorthIsland Highways Operations ManagerDan Olson says there were eightcrashes between November 1996 andApril 1997, the first year of the pavedroad. Back in 1989, when the road wasprivately managed and maintained,there were 33.

Dulle Point project shows""hat integrated system.

Eagle's view of the Duke Point Terminal. The $50-million terminal is expected to handle 1.5million passengersand 600,000 vehicles in the coming year.

Photos courtesy ofBC Ferry Corporation

MapbyMoTH CommunicationsBranch

8

Road Runner December 1997

A major component of the new access road to the Duke Point Terminal was a new Nanaimo Rivercrossing , shown here under construction.

is all about

Going Places, B.C's transportationplan, outlines a strategy fordevelopment of a first-class

transportation system.

That system must be multi-modal.offering a range of transportationchoices.

It must be integrated, so all theinvestments are linked to make a unifiedsystem that supports job creation.

And it must meet the public need forsafe and efficient of movement of goodsand people .

If you are looking for an example, travelto Nanaimo, and ride the four-laneexpressway to the Duke Point FerryTerminal.

There you'll find a multi-modal.integrated transportation system that issupporting economic growth and jobcreation in the mid-Island region .

A cooperative venture of MoTH, the BCTransportation Financing Authority,Ministry of Employment and Investmentand the BC Ferry Corp., the Duke Pointproject has included the construction ofa new seven-kilometre highway throughCedar, an interchange which connects tothe Nanaimo Parkway and the newVancouver Island Highway, as well as aferry terminal at Duke Point . The totalinvestment by all agencies totalled some$100mill ion, includ ing a $50-millionBCTFA investment in the access road .

The project's completion in June, underbudget and on schedule despite tighttimelines , showed this was acooperation that not only worked , butworked well.

The improvements exemplified anotherGoing Places objective: Making capitalinvestments that count.

The investments have prov ided a more

direct route between mid-Island andTsawwassen that is saving time andmoney for travelers and movers ofgoods. The investments have improvedaccess to the Duke Point Industrial Park,a focus for future economicdevelopment of the region . They havehelped reduce heavy truck traffic inNanaimo, by providing an alternativeterminal that takes traff ic around thecity, not through it , thanks to the newParkway. They have also helped removecongestion at Departure Bay.

"The benef it comes not only from thenew terminal or from the new highwayalone but from their integration," saysBlair Redlin. "The Duke Point Roadserves the term inal and the terminalserves the highway, and both the roadand the terminal support the industrialpark. They are mutually dependent onone another. "

Diana Johnstone, BC Ferries'spokesperson at Duke Point, sees thepro ject as a winner.

And so does Ed Townend, whomanaged the design and constructionof the highway for MoTH. It shows theregion has the ability to take on a bigjob and do it right , he says.

9

It was a job furthermore marked bychallenge, innovation and a fewsurprises.

The project involved building fourbridges, including a $6-million span overthe Nanaimo River. One of the bridges,crossing Cedar Road, had to beredesigned when two coal seams werefound where the footings were to go.

The project involved a lot of blasting,and drainage problems, notably in the

Continued on Page 10

First Nation motifs provide a true Islander welcometo travelers arriving at the terminal.

Road Runner December 1997

Duke Point ProjectContinued from Page 9

Ho lden Creek sectio n, where thesolut ion included installing some 50kilom etres o f wick drains to provideadequate drainage for the newalignment.

Another interesting feature was the useof" silent pavement" to redu ce trafficnoi se through Cedar. The pavement ,whi ch is coarser than ord inary asphaltand has a popcorn-like consistency thatabso rbs sounds , was applied over fourkilo metres. It was the first tim e it hadbeen used on a prov incial highwaysproject , other than a test applicat io n onHighway 19 nor th o f Nanaim o two yearsago. Void s in the mix prom ote drainage,too. whi ch in turn reduces glare at nightand provides mor e tract ion fo r vehicleswhen wet .

Of the surprises, non ewas greater thantheunearthing o fa giant fossilo f an extin ctpalm near theCranberr yArm s Inn . It andother fossilfragments showed themid -Island region onceenjoyed a semi-tropical .limate ... 80million years ago!

Environment al issues received muchartentk in With the cooperat io n andassistance of the Ministry ofEnviro nment , Land s and Parks, anartif icial reet WaScreated parallel toBerth I at the ter rninal A berm at theterminal was plant ed with wi ldfl owers.And a -i o-hectare wildfowl sanctuary wasestablished in the Ho lden Creek estuaryad jacent to the term inal. thank s to thecooperat ion o f seven environment ally-minded group s and agencies , includingNature Trust o f B.C.

Comm unity involv ement and publ icinterest in the projec t was high from thesta rt . A task force of local mayor sreco mmended the terminal site . Twoopen hou ses were held five mon thsapart, each drawing more than 1,000visitor s

Diana lohn ston e says ferr y users raveabo ut the locat ion o f the terminal.wh ich is bounded by a city park andfaces the cliffs o f Gabrio la acrossNorthumber land Channel Baldeagles nest in nearby trees andocca sio nally kill er whales make anappearance in the channe l

Humans have lived in the area for eonsjudging by petroglyph s in the area

The history o f the Nanai mo FirstNat io ns desc ribes Duke Po int as thehom e o f the raven There have evenbeen suggest io ns the name sho uld be

changed to Raven Point .

lohnstone says sheand Peter Lutzrnan .

the engineer whooversaw the

terminalco nstruct io n forBC Ferries,

once weremeetin g with

memb ers o f theNanaimo First

Nati ons in an unf ini shedbuild ing at the construct io n site when araven flew in and land ed on a rafter.The bird nodded to each memb er o f theassembled gath erin g , and thendeparted .

Everyone noti ced but no one said aword abo ut the visit.

John stone says she and Lut zman took itas a good omen. "In a way it reassuredus that we were doing the right thin g byputting the term inal here." she says

Photo above : Petroglyphs found at the tip ofJackPoint Park near terminal show the areahas been a popular fishing ground for eons.

10

MervClarl1repeats highachievement

A Ppointment as chief highwayengineer o f a province is a solidachievement in anyo ne's bookMerv Clark has done it tw ice

The f irst t ime was in Saskatchewan Thesecond in B.C., where he was conf irmedin the positi on in Iune

A gradu ate in engineer ing from theUni versit y o f Saskatchewan inSaskatoon. Clark spent 30 years with theSaskatchewan Ministry o f Highways andTransporta tio n wor king his way up theladder to Chief Engineer and then,f ina lly, Associate Deputy Minister o fEngineering.

In 1987 he left to becom e an engineeringconsulta nt. and for the next six years heand his wife, Lynn, called Ind on esiahome. He had a number 01cont ractsthrough ND Lea Intern at ion al helpingthe co untry develop its transpor ta t io nsystem.

Return ing to Canada in the fall o f 1993,he was o f fered the po sition o f Directoro f Highway Engineering with MoTH, andthe rest is histor y

Clark says his experience is helpful. but hisexpertise, he feels, is his ability to workwith peop le with expert engineering skil ls,"such as we find right here"

Road Runner December 1997

First HOV project is meeting objectives

Jessie Bains is in th e bu sine ss o fredu cing th e amo unt o f timemotorists spend o n th e road He

manages th e HOV o perat io ns on theBarn et-Hast ings co r ridor, the fir st in the

provin cial highway system

Since the facility ope ned a year ago .travel t ime on th e cor ridor has declinedby abo ut a third, or nin e to 13 minutes,

for th e 18-kilometre tr ip . HOV user sbenefi t the mo st . o f co urse , shaving four

minutes o ff the morning tr ip and two o ftthe af te rnoon

The faster, smoother t rip means lowergas co nsumpt ion and less ai r po llut io nfrom vehicle emissio ns, as well And th isis con vincing motorists there are big

benefits from ridesharing.

The pr imar y ob ject ive o f the $ 105-miliio n

Project Director Tom tasaka givesall-aboardsign at opening ceremony last September.

project is to redu ce travel demand bygetting more peop le to travel to gether.

Pro ject manager Terry Walt on says thepro ject results to date demon str ate thatinvest ing in alte rna tives to genera lpurpose lanes is mon ey well spe nt .

The project earned Walton the W.HCurti s Memorial Award from the Greater

Vancou ver Sect io n o f the Canadi anInstitute o f Transportat io n Enginee rs for

outsta nd ing technical achievement, anaward whi ch he says he shares with allMin istr y sta ff who have worked o n thepro ject ove r the last six-and-a-ha ll years.

A study by enginee r-in-t raining PhoebeHo found the HOV corr idor well ut ili zedat tw o-p lus r id ers, with a good level o fservice for general purpose and high

occ upa ncy lanes. About 700 vehi cleswith two or more riders use the route

per hour; less than 100carry three o r more rid er s.The average vehicleocc upa ncy is 1.21 to 1.38.

Bain s says he expects theoccupa ncy rate wi ll rise asthe overa ll HOV netw ork

unfold s and th e publicbecom es bet te r informedabo ut the vi r tues o t

ridesharing.

In th e mea nt ime , thebiggest head ache has beenenforcement . Al th oughenforcement agenciesassign as many resourcesto th is initiati ve as th ey can,the results indicate moreneed s to be don e to

achieve the govern me nt'starget o t 85 per centco mp liance.

Ini t ial surveys foundbetween 10 and 15 per cento f vehicles using th erestri cted lanes in Port

I I

HOV

Sign 01thetimes. Ministry plans to createan HOV networkin theLower Mainland .

Moody during HOV o perat ing hourshave a single occupa nt, and thus werenot in co mplia nce . However. this rate

rose to 20 per cent and even higher inparts o f Burna by and Vancouver. andtha t' s unacceptabl e

Motorists who ignor e the rule tace an

$85 f ine and tw o dement points

Bains is co nfident HOV is an effectiveway to so lve co ngest io n pr oblems in theLow er Mainland . "In the long-term , on cean overall HOV network is in place, I seeit a huge success," he says. add ing that

educat io n. marketing and changingpeople' s perception s and attitudes

abo ut using the faci lity are crit ical "Itwon 't happen overn ight .' he says "But Ibe lieve we are tak ing steps in the righ tdirectio n "

Photos courtesy 01 Jesse Bains

Road Runner December 1997

A new roa d p lanned to link the remote Nisga'aco m munity o f Kincolith to the provincia l highwaysystem is und ergoing so me o f th e most thorou ghenviron menta l assessme nt ever required in R.C.

It' s o ne o f the first highways project s to be subject to bothB.C. and Canad ian environment assessment processes, and itis presentin g so me uncommon challenges for enviro nmentexpert s and survey crews, no t the least o f wh ich is an at-ti mesmenacing pop ulatio n o f grizzly bears

The proj ect invol ves the design and co nstructio n o f abo ut 23kilom etres o f two-lane gravel road alo ng th e north side o f th eNass River from the Vill age o f Greenville to Mill Bay where itwill con nect with a new road abo ut four kilom etres lo ngconstruct ed from Kincolith by Nisgaa Econo mic Ente rprisesIncorpo rated .

At present , Kinco lith . o ne o f four main Nisgaa co mmunities,is accessib le only by boat or airp lane

The pro vin cial government, th rough the BC Transportat ionFinancing Authority, is co mmitted to funding up to o ne ha lf ofthe $30-million cos t o f th e road The federal government isfunding o ne third, and the Nisga 'a Nation o ne-sixt h

MoTH pro ject manager Dave St . Thom as says he hopesconstruct io n wi ll beg in in the spring, and the job completedby the year 2001 , but mu ch hinges on fin alizing cos t-sharingarrangements and o bta ining the go-ahead fro m the provi ncialand federal assessments by early in th e new year

The orig inal applicatio n was filed in October [() l)6 , and it wasdecid ed a two-stage appro val wou ld be requ ired , invol vingfir st the fi ling o f the app licat io n and co mments from thepublic and relevant agencies , and then a much mor e detail edanalysis o f major envi ro nmenta l and engineering concern s,whi ch was expe cted to be co mpleted thi s fall

The proj ect is eagerly sought by the Nisgaa to improve health,safety and access to educational faciliti es for the Vi llage of

BEAR" DOWN ONNT ISSUES IN

PROJECT

Ministry surveyorBill Davies sets uphistripod onasandbar in the NassRiver near the mouth of the Iknouk.

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Kinco lith, and to provide eco no mic developmentoppo rtunit ies in the northwest .

Because the proj ect wi ll encroac h on1,000 lineal metres or more tha n twohect ares o f the Nass River foreshore, itis sub ject to the B.C Environment alAssessment Act It is also sub ject to theCanadian Enviro nmental AssessmentAct , because construct ion will impactnavigable waters o f the Iknouk River andalso because the highwa y wi ll passth rough First Nat ions lands, includingfive Nisga'a reserves and one smallreserv e belongi ng to the TsimpseanNatio n who use it as a base for theirannua l oo ligan fishing .

The environmenta l review is beingmanaged by Angela Buckingham atMoTH headqu art ers in Victori a and isbeing coo rdinated by consulta nt Isabel Doyle o f Victoria

The review encom passes many areas of study, from exploringFirst Nat ions' uses to having a vegeta tio n eco log ist and a so ilsexpert prepare a map o f the land ecosystem.

A streams spec ialist and an estuary spec iali st are examiningthe impact o f the road on fi sheries, whi le an ornitho logi st anda zoo logis t are look ing int o the impact on bird s and wildl ife inthe area. An archaeolog ist has been retained to determine ifthere are any sites worth saving and if mitigation orpreservation wi ll be requ ired

Members of bo th Nisga'a and Tsimpsean Nations are assistingin these studies as well as in some of the others

Road Runner December ]997

Surveyors Bill Davies and Bruce Johnstone take measurments for the new roadline in remote area of the Iknouk estuary accessibleonly by boat or helicopter.

In addit io n, an eight-member survey team has wor ked oversummer with geotechnicians. inclu din g an avalanche expert ,co llecting data and chart ing the route.

The region tee ms with wildl ife, and even though the past yearwas a bad one for salmo n in the area, 51. Tho mas says he sawgrizzlies on six occasio ns, always from a respectable di stance.

Two memb ers o f the survey crew were not so lucky; they werecharged by a grizzly in May One o f the pair grabbed atemp eramental chainsaw and made histo ry when the sawsta rted on the fir st pull. Startled by the noi se, the angry bearveered off and aband oned its attack, bu t cont inued to thrasharound in the bru sh for som e tim e to let the two know itwasn't any too happy

Barge from Prince Rupert loaded with equipment and materialsfora geotechnical investigation lands ata work siteonthe Nass.

Fortunately the two were unharm ed.thanks to their expe rience work ing inthe nor th and especia lly in remoteareas. Since the incident , all memb erso f the field team have been instr ucted ina bear safety course by the Min istr y ofEnvironment. Land s and Parks.

And there have been no furt her d oseencounters with charging bears.

Photos courtesyof Region 5 survey crew.

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Road Runner December 1997

Chief Highway Engineer Merv Clark

Photocourtesyof Dr.Wei WuZhou

Shanghai delegation and Ministryhosts pose for a photo at June meeting in Victoria

"Canada is viewed as a strong engineering country when it comesto transportation, and R.C. is viewed as having good engineers"

Continued next page

Last year when he returned home torthe 95th birt hday of his father, he visitedShanghai transportati on of ficia ls,bu ild ing on relati on ships that had beenestab lished with the gro up came toCanada earl ier in the year.

The o fficials ind icated they hoped atechno logy lin k could be establishedwit h the Ministry.

As a result , ano ther delegation came toB C. in June to meet with Deputy

responsibil ity for highways rests wit hprovin ces in Canada and not with thefederal or nati onal gove rnment as is thecase in most o ther countries

He says sessions wit h foreign mission so ften begin with a short introdu ct ion toour syste m o f governme nt to expla in thediv ision o f respon sibili ties.

No one in the Min istry has been moreact ive in forming co nnect io ns with Chinathan Dr Zho u. a nati ve o f Shanghai andnow a Canadian cit izen.

Chief Highway Enginee r Mer v Clark seesthe mission s as valuable op portuniti esto sell B.C. indu st ry "Canada is viewed

Road Runner December 1997

Truc){ Safety Commands Respect

Staff rallies to repair damage from heavy rainsContinued from Page 3

Minister Loi s Boone'scommi tment to tr uck safety iswell known.But what may come as a surprise is herpersona l experience with tru cking.

Her father owned a small t rucki ng f irmin Delta, and when he died suddenly inthe mid-1960s, her mother to ok over thebusiness

"She did the driving and I became herswarnper." the min ister says, add ingthere were times it got a little hair -

Missions providehands across waterContinued from Page 14

Mini ster Blair Redlin and sign a letter ofintent to promote techno logy in ur bantranspor tation systems. This has sincebeen fo llowed wit h a Memorandum o fUnderstandin g that was signed inShanghai on Nov. 4 during the Premier' svisit to China.

Dr Zho u says it' s important not just tomake connecti ons, but to make the rightconnecti ons.

When transportation mini sters o f theAsia Paci f ic Economic Cooperation metin Victor ia last lun e, a private luncheonwas orga nized for Red lin and the headof the Chinese de legat ion. Ronl.ongsraffe. head of the Vancouver PortAuthority, also at tended the meetin g ,which lasted two "very productive "hours

Much o f the tal k centered aroundMar tec and ITS technologi es, and Dr.Zho u says the Chinese off icial cameaway impressed , promising to fo llow upon ways to use the techno log ies inChina when he return ed hom e.

"There's a big pote nt ial if we cancon so lidate a government linkage," saysDr Zho u. "Business act ivity is sure tofo llow."

raising , as when they were leaving theunderground delivery area at Oakridgein Vancouver and were confro nted by anIS-wheeler coming the other way on ly todi scover they were tr ying to exit by theent rance .

She says her respect fo r large tru cksstarted abo ut then.

Her moth er soon after so ld thebusiness, figuring she wasn 't cut out forthat kind o f work. But Min ister Boonesays her respect has never waned.

The measures taken in the past year tomake tru cki ng safer in the province havebeen amo ng her prou destachievements.

They includ e a doub ling of f ines forpoor ly adjusted brakes, estab lishmentof a to ll-free number to repor t possib letru ck safety violati on s, and beefing uproad side inspections in the Low erMainland .

And they include the for mation o f a taskfo rce on co mmercial vehicle safety inpart nership with stakeho lders fromindustry and labor

The highway eastb ound fro m Crestonalso had a spectacular incident when anembankment co llapsed and took out ahou se on the other side of the road

Highways crews put in long , t iring shifts,coor dinat ing their wo rk with o f ficialsfrom the Ministr y of Environment.Lands and Parks, provincial emerge ncyprogram, B.C Hydro and West Koot enayPower.

In the north east section o f Region 4 therewas much damage to the road system,and a special $2.6-million fund wasprov ided to help deal with restoration ,which will take several years to complete.

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The task force made 32 recommend-at io ns and some key ones were swift lyimplemented . They include a safecarr ier recognition program, a review o fthe d river penalty po int system, agradu ated licensing system, and arequirement that English be the salelanguage for examinat io ns for licences.

The min ister believes the ent rancerequirements fo r tr uck d rivers sho uld betightened , and gives an example o fformer Superinte nde nt o f MotorVehicles Vicki Farr ally who decided towr ite the exam witho ut opening a bookto study the rules and regul ations. Ittook Farrally only five minu tes. And shepassed . No one was more amazed thanher. She was qualified to drive an 18-wheeler prov ided a perso n wi th acomm ercial licence sat beside her "Andthat doesn't make much sense," Mi nisterBoo ne concluded .

The tru ck safety task fo rce is now underICBe While there is still wo rk to bedon e, Minister Boone says measuresalready taken wi ll go a long way toimproving the satety o f the public onBC 's highways

Region '5 also had problems High-waterscouring closed a br idge on the RoseLake cuto ff road over the long weekendin May In the same per iod. the ColleyMoun t ROad at Francoi s Lake was hitwit h slides at several p laces, blockingthe road in a ile sect io n. There wereslides also o n the Kispiox Road at DateCreek west o f new Hazelton . and loadlimits went into effe ct on Four Mi leBrid ge on the Telegraph Creek Roadafte r high water damaged the abutmentsand foo ti ngs

"It was a wi ld tim e, everyw here," oneinterior highway wor ker said

Road Runner December 1997

Facilities review brings dividends to ministryConsolidation of headquarters in Victoria is saving the ministry more than $1 million a year in rent

There has been no shortageof ideas from staff on howto make better use ofministry facilities.

The cost of renovations and office improvements are expectedto come to almost half a million dollars, with BCBC picking up$401,000.

The review is touching everycorner of the ministry, andone of the biggest moves ishappening in Terrace.

AJreview of facilities owned and leased by the Ministry isgenerating major savings for the government. It isxpected when Ministry-wide downsizing and officeconsolidations are completed, more than $4 million will beshaved off the Ministry's current $l6-million annual budget forfacilities .

Assistant Deputy Minister, Highways Operations Dan Doylegives a lot of the credit for what's happening to the many staffmembers who have contributed creative ideas on how theMinistry can bestmanage itshundreds of officebuildings, yardsand sheds aroundthe province.

Staff input ,together withmeasures beingtaken with the B.e. Building Corporation to developpartnerships and agreements with other ministries oragencies on facilities sharing , is translating into efficienciesthat are showing up on the balance sheets .

A total of 200 cost-saving projects have been identified and 82are under review or have been approved, with many nowcompleted. The net savings for the current year are put at$500,000, of which $217,000 is being returned to the regionsfor reallocation wherever possible into the local road system,Doyle says.

Brian Jenkins, manager of Facilities Services, says the mainthrust of the review, which started with the announcement ofstreamlining measures Jastyear, is to protect jobs , put moremoney into the roads, prepare for possible cutbacks orc1awbacks in funding, and allow for tenant improvements to

create more efficiencies .

lenklns says there's been no shortage of ideas from staff.When staff was invited to submit suggestions on improvingthe ministry's business, the third highest category ofresponses dealt with facilities .

The first phase of the review has been more or lesscompleted. It involved consolidation of headquarters in theWaddington Building on Blanshard Street in Victoria . About500 of the 750 headquarters staff were affected by thechanges . Some 35,000 square metres of floor space wasvacated . Savings on rent total $1.1 million a year.

The restructuring made it possible for the BC TransportationFinancing Authority to relocate to the Waddington Building. It

1854·1

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now occupies about 10,000 square feet on the third floor in anarea once used by Library Services, Mail Services, MajorProjects and part of the Planning Section, which have all beenmoved to other parts of the building.

Phase 2 of the review is well under way. It involves regionalfacilities and ties in with Phase 3, which looks at IntegratedWorkplace Strategies, such as telecommuting, use of mobileoffices and better utilization of space .

Doyle says the six regions and the Marine Branch are takingthe lead in Phase 2 and 3, and expects them to manageprojects within time frames best for their management teamand employees . Headquarters coordinated the moves andproviding resources as needed, while a planner with BCBuilding Corporation, Laurette Fagnan, is assisting theregional downsize, as she did with Waddington, and is lead ingstaff through IWS concepts .

Doyle advocates a balance between deadlines and successfulfacility transitions but quickly adds, "The sooner, the better ...time is money:

The review is touching every corner of the Ministry. One ofthe biggest moves involves district and regional operations inTerrace , wh ich are currently carried out in five buildingsthroughout the city.

Project manager George Lomas says the plan is to move themain office on Park Avenue and professional offices onLazelle Avenue into side-by-side buildings on Keith Avenue

which had beenused before by thegeotechnical lab,properties andprofessionalservices . The twobuildings beingvacated are leasedfrom the private

sector. The buildings being moved into are owned by BCBe.

But the benefits are significant, says Lomas . Not only willthere be a savings in rent , down to $368,000 from $725,000,but the rent will be kept within government.

The fifth building , also on Keith, houses the electrical crew,and is a private leasehold. Lomas says his project team ishoping to move the unit into a BC Hydro building , or failingthat into another BCBC building.

BCGEU