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Cariboo Regional District director seeking resident input on Highway 20 conditions

West Chilcotin director Gerald Kirby
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Highway 20 between the Puntzi Lake turnoff and Nimpo Lake in May 2021 featured a stop light due to repair damage done by frost heaves over the winter. (Monica Lamb-Yorski photo - Williams Lake Tribune)

A Cariboo Regional District director is seeking feedback about Highway 20 from his constituents in the West Chilcotin.

Area J director Gerald Kirby said Monday, Dec. 6 he has had a few residents complain to him about the condition of the highway and wants to find out if it is just a few people or more than that.

Some residents have suggested that instead of sealcoat, the road should be paved, Kirby said, noting he is not an expert but is hoping to ask that question to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and its engineers.

From what others have told him, Kirby said the advantages of pavement could be improved safety with painted lines, road reflectors for winter conditions and a better road base for longer stability.

He also said the frost heaves were worse last winter than they have ever been and there have been crews working on the road all summer and into the fall.

“There were some fairly big sections they had to deal with,” Kirby said. “It was very unusual conditions this year. We have always had frost heaves, but this particular year was really bad. It is like they are saying down south, it is like something we have never seen before - this bad or this extreme.”

With the moisture staying in the ground now compared to the past, it is much different, he added.

The sealcoat runs from Puntzi until just before Nimpo Lake, he said, adding that’s where the biggest frost heaves were.

“I understand my Facebook post was shared in Bella Coola as well and those people use the highway so if they want to provide feedback I’m interested,” he said.

To weigh in Kirby can be reached by phone, 250-1357, or email gkirby@cariboord.ca.



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Monica Lamb-Yorski

About the Author: Monica Lamb-Yorski

A B.C. gal, I was born in Alert Bay, raised in Nelson, graduated from the University of Winnipeg, and wrote my first-ever article for the Prince Rupert Daily News.
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