B:C.’ government to identify,
ansportation : needs . for: the
province in the 1990's and to

commend ' improvements that”

highways i in the area of Terrace
have’ the worst ‘congestion and ©
highest“ ‘accident rate in- the
_ Northwest region — but the

ions on how the problems could
be solved.

Westminister’ engineering and
planning firm Delcan corpora-_
on. It occupies 18 volumes and
suggests over $7. billion in capi-
al. improvements to’ B.C.’s air,
rail, marine and highways trans- .
portation systems,

region, covering the combined

Prince Rupert regional districts,
i ‘analyzed in Volume 9 of the
report. Set .
The section of the report deal-

ng with highways, based on
figures obtained from the minis-

é the, traffic: travelling the 1,000

“<Sways inthe region flows unim-
| -speded. Without any upgrading,

7 CRMs e

‘ oo EE The. ‘one “pergent: ‘of--traffic.
: Blow: -gurrently termed “‘con-
. .gested’? occurs: in the Terrace

daily ‘traffic volumes are not
“indicated in the report, but
growth is forecast at 3.9 percent
oS Ain: the: next 11 years, and the
~ result. is ‘expected to be a daily
ee ‘traffic volume of 18,750 vehicles
“per day -Qocal . and through-
- traffic) using Highway 16 in the
a ‘vicinity of Terrace, and 10,524
| _ “xyehicles per day using Highway
| «37 between Terrace and Kitimat.
|
|

.. Terrace. and New Hazelton
“are the only points identified as
“major problems”’ for acci-
. dents, The report blames high
traffic volumes and too many
intersections for both the con-
gestion and accident rates. The.

’.. further. study to upgrade the
‘traffic arteries.

the Terrace area in the report are
nder.the inland marine and air-
port - sections, Delcan recom-

} - | vice Usk, noting that a road link
ae ‘would be too expensive in rela-

‘tion to the population. :
~The. report indicates that the
Terrace-Kitimat airport is pres-
- ently slotted by Transport Cana-
da to receive a Microwave Land-
ing System (MLS) and makes no
further suggestion for improve-
a ments. Darryl Laurent, the air-
-.port manager, says however,
«that at best the system will not
be installed before 2010, and

: ficulties in persuading air car-

eceiving equipment in their air-
aft. The current cost, Laurent
id, és about $50, 000 per

singles Terrace out
as problem road area

\ study commissioned by the.
will: -be required, states that the.

report makes "no recommenda-. —

Titled “Freedom to Move”, .
the. study was ‘done by the New

The North Coast development |

areas of the Kitimat-Stikine and.

try, indicates that 99 percent of.

‘kilometers of numbered. high-

the free flow figure in the year
000 is - expected to be 97 per-.

area and Prince Rupert. Present -

“only” recommendation is for

“The only other mentions of.

mends keeping the ferry to ser-_

even with that there are dif-

_-Flers to install the corresponding

‘Laurent also noted that’ there

are safety considerations in con-—

verting to MLS because ‘it’ is
different than the Instrument.
Landing System (ILS) presently,
in use at major airports. : By «
using - two ‘different’ electronic
approach systems, he explained,
the. possibility of confusion |
among pilots arises,

Maintenance. a key factor

In examining problems with
. the region’s ‘highways, Delcan
‘concludes that maintenance and
upgrading of existing roads will.
-be. more important than meas-
» ures’ to improve traffic flows.
The report. emphasizes more fre-
_ quent and improved ' mainte-
" nance procedures as a cost-
-saving measure in comparison to
the cost of rebuilding after al-
lowing roads to deteriorate.

Structural problems in high-
ways are attributed to a combin-
ation of heavy commercial truck
traffic and weather extremes.

__. The report specifically recom-
mends that Highway 37 north of
Kitwanga be given a better road
-base and paving. . co

Another specific recommen-
dation is for the construction of

‘grade separations at a number |

of level rail crossings along
- Highway 16. Overpasses would
improve both traffic flow and
safety.

ge eee: _-New‘road links. he

Proposals for three new roads
_are presented for consideration §

in the report. ..

upgrading to the existing logging
roads that ‘connect Rosswood,
New Aiyansh and- Cranberry
Junction. Total cost is estimated
between $270 and $340 million.
A new road running 117
kilometers from Bob Quinn
Lake down the Iskut River to the
Alaska border is also con-
sidered. The road would provide

overland access to a number of

gold mines and exploration sites
in the Iskut valley. The. report
notes that a link would be re-
quired on the Alaskan side of

the border. Estimated cost is.

_ $125-175 million,

The third new project would

bea bridge spanning the Bulkley

‘River at New Hazelton. The .
a .one-lane -

existing crossing,
steel bridge, is considered to be
outdated. The report says. it
would cost about $12 million.

' Delcan notes that these possi-

ble new links have been suggest. :
ed by various groups within the”
region from time to time, and ©
they are presented in the report»

without recommendations, as-
‘sessments of feasibility,
justification.

The Delcan report is currently
being considered in Cabinet.
Highways Minister Neil Vant

called the report “‘a baseline
study upon which we.can begin:
our deliberations in the regions’’

and '*a blueprint for action’
Some of the recommendations

are expected to be acted upon in. |
the near future, but others will
require months of deliberation .
and some may be rejected alto- z

wether 7

Saar be I GAL AREAS TAR ae shade

‘Wednesday, January 18, 1989.

The first is 185 kilometers of |

or.

Periods ade af ade

EASY DOES IT! After more than a decade of tenancy in the Tilllcum Twin Theatres bullding,
the Kaium District Forest office began the task of moving out last weekend to its new loca-

_tion in the B.C. Hydro facilities on Keith Ave. A crane was engaged to lift and lower con-
tainers to the third floor office, where materials were loaded in through a window. The con-
tainers were then loaded on a flat deck for transportation to the new quarters. One moving
and storage employee remarked, ‘It beats using the stairs.”

GREEN GOLD GRANTS
aoe ‘Funding for Forestry Public Awareness Projects
Available to Non-profit Organizations

_T paling tor spolcobon: Feaary 28, 1000

Deadline for application: February 28, 1989

Applications

available from:

Any Ministry of Forests office,
Government Agent office or
c/o Green Gold Grants

Box 4115, Sin. A,

Victorla, B.C. V8X 8X4 °

_A FEDERAL/PROVINCIAL COMMITMENT

FOREST RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT

a ene at heh ENR PS REN A NSE IONE A Mtl Rt oar alopromgepach emcee SAIN at Aue eee eee

4

or inal aS