The new maintenance contract has been awarded for Service Area 12 in the Southern Interior, with improved standards and better highway conditions for British Columbians year-round.

The contract for Service Area 12 (Selkirk), which covers provincial roadways in the Revelstoke and Golden areas, was awarded to EMCON Services Inc., which has the existing contract.

The contract has a 10-year term with an optional five-year extension. The contract is set to begin on Nov. 1, 2018, the day after the current agreement expires.

The new maintenance contracts for all service areas require improved standards and a more proactive approach when a severe weather event occurs. Here are some of the biggest improvements over the most recent contracts:

• Increased communication with the public about rapidly changing road conditions during severe weather events and other incidents affecting travel on B.C. roads.
• Return Class A highways to bare pavement within 24 hours of a winter weather event ending at pavement temperatures of -9 C or warmer, when de-icing chemical use is safe and effective. The previous standard was 48 hours.
• Increase patrol frequency to 90 minutes on a Class A highway, like the Coquihalla, during a winter storm. The previous standard was four hours.
• When a weather event is forecasted to occur, increase the patrol frequency to four hours. The previous standard was 24 hours.

Twenty-six of the 28 maintenance contracts in the province will be tendered and awarded in 2018 and 2019, through a staggered open-bidding process.

Quick Facts:

• Together, private contractors maintain nearly 47,000 kilometres of road and 2,800 bridges in some of the most challenging terrain in Canada.
• Crews apply 750,000 tonnes of winter abrasives over 1.2 million kilometres and 100,000 tonnes of salt to highways annually throughout B.C.
• The value of these 28 highway maintenance agreements totals approximately $400 million annually.

Learn More:

For more information on the ministry’s highway maintenance contract renewal program, go to: www.gov.bc.ca/highwaymaintenancerenewal