Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
National

Highways prepared for extreme weather 'new normal,' says B.C. transportation minister

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 Nov, 2023 02:51 PM
  • Highways prepared for extreme weather 'new normal,' says B.C. transportation minister

British Columbia's transportation minister says 130 kilometres of highway that was severely damaged by flooding two years ago is now more resilient to extreme weather.

Rob Fleming says the stretch of the Coquihalla Highway, or Highway 5, between Hope and Merritt, B.C., is an example of a "new normal" for how infrastructure needs to be built.

A series of atmospheric rivers in November 2021 triggered mudslides and washed out highways and bridges that blocked almost every route between B.C.'s Lower Mainland and the Interior.

Fleming says the cost to repair the damage caused to Highways 1, 5 and 8 is somewhere between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, but 70 to 90 per cent of that is expected to be covered by the federal government's disaster assistance program.

Jennifer Fraser, executive project director for the highway reinstatement program, says six bridges on the Coquihalla were replaced over 17 months.

She says some bridges have been made longer to allow more water to pass underneath, and crews strategically placed rocks and vegetation to help fight erosion.

Fraser says the bridges are also on stronger supports, with the longest pile being driven 65 metres into the ground.

Fleming says one of B.C.'s most important trade corridors is now better able to resist future climate events.

"Our infrastructure has to be able to withstand extreme weather conditions. This is the new normal for the safety of our residents and the movement of goods throughout the province. This is an important infrastructure priority for British Columbia."

MORE National ARTICLES

RCMP tells owners to turn in guns after banned fully automatic model sold in Canada

RCMP tells owners to turn in guns after banned fully automatic model sold in Canada
The RCMP has told owners to turn in what the force is calling fully automatic military surplus firearms after hundreds were misidentified and allowed into Canada for commercial sale. The Mounties say the registrar of firearms immediately froze records relating to the 245 prohibited guns upon discovery of the issue to prevent further sale or transfer of the firearms.  

RCMP tells owners to turn in guns after banned fully automatic model sold in Canada

Police involved shooting in West Kelowna

Police involved shooting in West Kelowna
The Independent Investigations Office is investigating a police-involved shooting in West Kelowna this afternoon where one man was injured.  The R-C-M-P says police were responding to reports of gunshots and a man with a weapon in a vehicle.

Police involved shooting in West Kelowna

Pedestrian struck and killed in Vancouver

Pedestrian struck and killed in Vancouver
Police are investigating after a pedestrian was struck and killed by a car in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside today. Police say two cars collided at an intersection just before 11 this morning, and one of the cars jumped the curb and he the person on the sidewalk.  

Pedestrian struck and killed in Vancouver

Canada taking 'necessary time' to probe hospital blast in Gaza, says Trudeau

Canada taking 'necessary time' to probe hospital blast in Gaza, says Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that Canada is working with allies to determine "exactly what happened" in the blast at a hospital in Gaza City earlier this week that has become a flashpoint in the Israel-Hamas war.  Trudeau said at a news conference in Ottawa that Canada is taking the "necessary time" to probe a blast that the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry says left hundreds dead. 

Canada taking 'necessary time' to probe hospital blast in Gaza, says Trudeau

Alberta court rejects challenge from law student to Oath of Allegiance to monarchy

Alberta court rejects challenge from law student to Oath of Allegiance to monarchy
Prabjot Singh Wirring had argued the portion of the oath mandated by the Legal Profession Act that includes pledging allegiance to the sovereign violates his Charter rights to religious freedom and equality. Wirring, who is an Amritkhari Sikh, said he is only allowed to pledge allegiance to a divine being in the Sikh tradition and not Queen Elizabeth, who was the reigning monarch at the time his suit was filed.   

Alberta court rejects challenge from law student to Oath of Allegiance to monarchy

ShakeOutBC earthquake drill

ShakeOutBC earthquake drill
Thousands of people across B-C dropped, covered and held on this morning -- as they took part in the annual ShakeOutBC earthquake drill. The event -- at 10:19 a-m -- simulates an earthquake response and is a key part of provincial efforts to raise awareness about what to do in the moments, hours and days after an earthquake strikes.

ShakeOutBC earthquake drill