New Section of Ruined Highway - Not Enough

FTLComm - Bjorkdale - Saturday, June 9, 2001

Last summer the Department of Highways undertook the upgrading of a short seven mile section of the high way near Bjorkdale and this summer the project continues with another fifteen kilometre section widened and improved. As we drove over the work yesterday the whole length of the development is in various stages of completion with widening and improving taking place on the West end and finishing and hard topping at the East end. The contractors are doing an admirable job and traffic was hardly impeded by the work. Clearly this will be a major improvement but it is just not enough. The hasty removal of the railine serving Bjorkdale, Porcupine Plain, Somme and Weekes has funnelled thousands of "B" train grain haulers onto a highway designed to carry passenger cars and only the area freshly reconstructed last summer is now usable at regular high way speeds. The roadway from Weekes to Porcupine Plain, from Porcupine Plain to Chelan and from the end of the construction area near Bjorkdale to the junction at Crooked River is dished from heavy traffic and pot hole markers are as frequent as fence posts. This highway can not be driven with a vehicle on cruise control as the damage and disintegration of the road is so extensive that it is a threat to one safety and a mechanical threat to cars and light trucks.