The safety of the travelling public and employees is Mainroad Contracting’s highest priority, the company stated today in response to recent criticism of the condition of East Kootenay highways, including from Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett.

Noting the region is experiencing challenging winter weather in its service area, Mainroad said in a press release it understands what the challenges would be and is fully prepared.

“Mainroad takes all concerns raised by the public very seriously and we are currently investigating complaints,” said Al Sander, General Manager. “Our first priority is always to respond to the situation at hand – getting the roads cleared as quickly as possible and doing the work as per our contract obligations.”

For the next seven days, the weather forecast is stable, cold and clear with isolated flurries later in the week and some wind gusts.

There is no storm activity forecasted at this time. Road temperatures remain well below -9C, which prevents our crews from conducting liquid de-icing operations.

Ice blading and sanding will continue until temperatures come up enough for deicing to begin. During this extreme cold weather, bare and black highways is not the provincial standard; however, Mainroad operations are monitoring the road and weather conditions continuously for any changes.

“We are publishing regular road and weather updates including weekends and ahead of new weather events. Over 75 employees including bridge crew and mechanical support are working around the clock plowing and sanding as conditions warrant and patrolling the service area. Please keep a safe distance from highway maintenance equipment,” Sander stated.

At this time regional highways have compact snow and slippery sections, including Highway 93 in Kootenay National Park.

More detailed information concerning Service Area 11 Maintenance Specifications.

Mainroad is also encouraging people to please report highway hazards/debris to Mainroad’s 24 hour hotline 1-800-665-4929 and to visit www.drivebc.ca for current road conditions, weather forecasts, and real-time conditions via webcams.

Images from DriveBC. Note: Hosmer and Sparwood DriveBC cameras remain off-line.

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