Nisga’a Highway classification | to remain unchanged for now MAINTENANCE standards on. the Nisga’a Highway _ won't be boosted anytime soon despite lobbying by = two regional governments. Transportation ministry - official Don Ramsay says winter maintenance stan- ’ dards now in place are suf- ‘Kitimat-Stikine _ district want the Nisga’a - ficient for the volume of traffic leading into and out of the Nass Valley. © a Both the Nisga’a — Li- sims Government and the regional Highway’s Class C designa- tion raised to Class B, the standard for Hwy 16. They say that’s particular- ly the case because massive improvements to the Nisga’a Highway, including the new road connection to Kincolith, ‘have increased the amount of traffic and have made it easier . to travel by road to and from . improving the Nass Valley. They argue Nass: residents shouldn’t be’ treated - any. differently than up to $50,000 this year on the Cranberry Connector, a 48 km gravel logging road‘connecting the’ _ Nass Valley east to Hwy 37 north of Kitwanga. "Tell follow on $50, 000 spent by the ministry last fall - to improve the drivability of the road which regional ‘government officials view _ ‘as a vital second route out of |: the Nass Valley for residents and tourists. . ” The notoriously ‘bumpy and pothole-filled route has been the subject of intensive lobbying by Nisga’ ‘a Lisims - government. and. Kitimat- Stikine regional district of- ficials who add that it also serves as an emergency east- west connection should Hwy 16 ever. be closed. . th The ‘connector was s once regularly. maintained by log- ging contractors but it fell into disrepair when the for-. estry industry slowed down in the last decade. _ A complicating factor is that while regional gov- ernments are lobbying the transportation ministry, the -connector falls under the ju- risdiction of the forest min- istry. . Local transportation min- Excelling anybody else living in the north. But Ramsay says the cur- rent volume, an estimated 688 vehicles during the sum- | ‘mer and less in the winter, justify current standards. - Those standards include . a highways maintenance patrol.every 17 hours for a _ Class C highway with fre- ‘quency increasing if weath- ; er.conditions worsen during winter months. Patrol stan- ~ dards for a Class B highway, such as Hwy 16, call for pa- trols every eight hours and it is once every four hours for a Class A highway.” “Everybody would like more maintenance but the provincial government has set an overall budget for ~ maintenance and it has to be | realistic,” said Ramsay. He said a review of main- tenance standards conducted “in 2003, when maintenance _contractors received 10-year “contracts, showed them to. Connector gets an upgrade — . THE TRANSPORTATION ‘ministry is ready to spend istry official Don. Ramsay: said his. ministry . will try, to satisfy local demands as much as possible. . “What we’ ve done is ask the Ministry of Forests to work with us. It’s their. road and..we’ve now engaged them to make the best use ‘of that money ‘as possible,” said Ramsay last week. But he noted that the con-- nector would be expensive to improve and at a cost that “would not return a normally - a justifiable benefit. Even basic maintenance is ‘challenging because one section has. very little gravel on it, meaning that grading . makes very little difference: '“There’s no source of gravel close to it and bring- ing it in would mean major costs,” said Ramsay, adding the road:is not maintained in ;. the winter. os Last year’ s. work did make a difference with local - reports indicating the route is in better shape than it has been in years. Nisga’a Lisims Govern- ment official Harry Nyce, who also sits on the Kitimat- Stikine regional district board, said both govern- - ments will keep pressing for improvements to the Cran- berry, Connector. in an On- Demand World economy. To register, contact Betty J. www.nsis.ca for information. Sponsors — Northwest Science & Innovation Society (NSIS) invites you to attend Strategic discussion on advancing regional science and technology resources to compete in a global June 18, 2005 10 am-4pm BEST WESTERN TERRACE INN at (250) 635-6244 or e-mail to bjbarton@monarch.net. Visit the Northwest Science and Innovation Society web site at Western Economic Diversification ( WD), 1 6/37 ‘Community Futures Development Corporation, BC Innovation Council, Northwest Science and Innovation Society, National Research Council ul ‘Keynote Speaker Tod Maffin © “one of Canada’s most _ influential futurists" ' The Globe and Mail Barton, NRC Business Coach Regional - be “appropriate and reason- able in their application to the Nisga’a Highway.” -“For a Class C highway, the maximum accumulation _ of snow is 10 cm, that’s only 1.6 inches or 4 cm more than what it would be outside of Terrace on Hwy 16 and that is a Class B highway,” Ram- say continued. — politicians aren’t deterred by. the news and will continue to ask that the highway’s classification and standards be improved. ‘ernment and who also sits on the regional district board, says he expects the cam-- paign to pick up now that the The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - At1 THIS YEARS LAKESHORE HOT SPOT! 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