Mainroad East Kootenay Contracting has provided an update on its maintenance work on Lumberton Road.

Mainroad is contracted by the province to maintain 14 kms of Lumberton Road at the intersection of BC Highway 3 and Lumberton Road to 14 kms west of Highway 3.

To improve drainage, crews completed repairs of five damaged culverts including ditching maintenance this past June.

To stabilize the road, crews have been performing grading operations while road base stabilization material will be installed upon the completion of road works in September.

Mainroad has marked nine sites for road base repair and the installation of high fine surface aggregate (gravel cap) which it is aiming to schedule in September.

“Much of the work we do is subject to road and weather conditions – an Extreme Fire Danger Rating is in effect. Therefore, activities such as grading or base repair related work is deemed High Risk per the BC Wildfire Regulation,” Mainroad stated in a stakeholder notification/

For example, sparks generated from a grading operation can be caught in the wind and start a wildfire.

To respond to the current road conditions and as an interim measure until the risk of fire has fallen, Mainroad has deployed the following action plan:

• On July 29, crews placed gravel and spread with a grader at the four-km mark and at the 7.5-km mark as shown in above photo with special Extreme Fire Danger precautions in place.
• Crews continue to actively monitor the road surface and perform interim repairs of problem spots such as the four km mark.
• Once the BC Fire Danger Rating has lowered and Mainroad can safely perform this work, watch for further updates to its work plan and schedule.

“We recognize that this is an active logging truck route (Moyie River Forest Road) and is passage to many year-round recreational activities in the area including camping and special events.

“Our crews are very much a part of the communities we serve and do not want to cause any environmental damage nor impact local business operations that are trying to recover from the pandemic. We will resume our regular maintenance schedule and publish updates as soon as weather conditions permit,” Mainroad concluded.

Lead image courtesy Mainroad East Kootenay Contracting

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