The Province intends to better connect communities west of Quesnel and south of Highway 16 to jobs and opportunities in the Northwest with a new crossing over the Blackwater River and improvements to service roads in the region, MLA for Cariboo North Coralee Oakes announced today, on behalf of Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Todd Stone and Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson.

“The Province has begun planning to make bridge and road improvements that will better connect the communities in this region to jobs and opportunities from the resource sector in the Northwest,” Oakes said. “These plans include a new crossing over the Blackwater River, new road construction to connect the existing south and north portions of both the Kluskus and Anahim Lake resource roads, and improvements to existing resource roads.”

Over the next few months, the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations will begin preliminary planning and engineering designs for the new Blackwater bridge, for a series of smaller bridges and for the road improvements. The Province will also gather community input that will inform the final scope of the project.

The Province has budgeted $7 million for these improvements that will allow traffic to travel more directly between Quesnel and Anahim Lake to Highway 16.

Construction is anticipated to begin in 2018.

The B.C. government is working with rural British Columbians to help them build, grow and diversify their communities so they can create jobs and remain competitive in today’s rapidly changing economy. In 2016-17 alone, the government invested $3.6 billion in economic development activities targeted at rural B.C., such as improving connectivity and transportation infrastructure, and supporting Aboriginal people and young adults.

Learn More:

B.C. on the Move is available online at: www.gov.bc.ca/bconthemove

For more information on the B.C. Rural Economic Development Strategy: http://ow.ly/28tI309GhrV