New maintenance contracts have been awarded for service areas 10 and 16 in the southern Interior, providing improved standards and better highway conditions for British Columbians year-round.

The contract for Service Area 10 (Central Kootenay), which provides maintenance on provincial roadways for several communities, including Nelson, Creston and Nakusp, was again awarded to Yellowhead Road & Bridge Ltd.

Service Area 16 (South Cariboo), which includes provincial road maintenance for Lillooet, Cache Creek and 100 Mile House, was awarded to Interior Roads Ltd., the current contractor. Interior Roads will change its name to Dawson Road Maintenance Ltd.

Both contracts have a 10-year term and an optional five-year extension. Both are set to begin on June 1, 2019, the day after the existing contracts expire.

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

• Return Winter Class A highways, such as highways 3 and 97, to bare pavement within 24 hours of a winter weather event ending at pavement temperatures of -9 C or warmer, when de-icing is safe and effective. The previous standard was 48 hours.
• Increase patrol frequency to 90 minutes on a Class A highway during a winter storm. The previous standard was four hours.
• When a weather event is forecasted, increase the patrol frequency to four hours. The previous standard was 24 hours.
• Under the new agreement, contractors will be required to be more proactive prior to a winter weather event occurring, and to spread anti-icing chemicals prior to the weather event.

Twenty-six of the 28 maintenance contracts in the province will be tendered and awarded by the end of 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.
• Every year, crews apply 100,000 tonnes of salt and 750,000 tonnes of winter abrasives over 1.2 million kilometres of B.C. highways.
• The value of these 28 highway maintenance agreements totals approximately $400 million annually.

Learn More:

For more information on highway and bridge maintenance in British Columbia, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/transportation-infrastructure/contracting-to-transportation/highway-bridge-maintenance