February 4, 2008

Roadbuilding

Cariboo Connector program proceeding at cautious pace

Jean Sorensen

correspondent

Work on the Cariboo Connector, a $2 billion program announced in 2005 aimed at twinning Highway 97 from Cache Creek to Prince George, is not going fast enough for some northern communities.

After more than two years, only about 10 kilometres have been twinned on the 460-km route.

“At that rate, it will take 40 years,” said Quesnel Mayor Nate Bello, adding that the province is not even calling it a project but a program.

His community has seen few results in Phase 1 where the program identifies highway areas needing upgrades based upon urban congestion and safety.

An estimated $200 million will be spent over five years twinning these areas.

“We had one project that was about three kilometres a couple of years ago, but it was delayed. We hope they will go ahead because they have bought the property,” Bello said.

Cache Creek Mayor John Ranta said there was more talk about the route during the last Liberal election than action today.

The Cache Creek portion includes twinning Highway 97 to Highway 99, the cut-off for Lillooet and the Whistler area.

“The government has expressed an inclination for having the four lanes done by the 2010 Olympics, but for that to happen they better get to work,” he said, adding that part of the delay hinges upon twinning the highway through First Nations lands.

Rosalind Thorn, executive director of the B.C. Construction Association North, said her members will be pressing government to get more tenders out this year after a lull that hit after the Simon Fraser Bridge’s plans were cancelled after coming in over budget.

“It is now a design-bid-build contract and that is happening now,” she said.

Surespan Construction received a $31.6 million contract to build the four-lane bridge in November 2007.

The project cost is $42 million (engineering and highway approaches) with completion in 2009 and the federal government contributing $18 million. Pile driving has currently started.

“We will be pressing government to continue and carry on with the phases of the project all the way to Cache Creek,” Thorn said.

The Connector will link two thirds of the northern province with the rest of B.C. as well as provide access to the regional hospital, a new cancer clinic slated for 2010 and the university.

It will also bring economic benefits to the northern city linking the oil and gas, mining and forestry centres as well as gaining quicker access to major consumers of raw materials such as China.

Bill Rose, Ministry of Transport program manager for the Cariboo Connector, has heard the concerns.

“Some of our stakeholders had hoped projects would be rolled out faster,” he said, but added that much of the delay has hinged upon obtaining engineering designs, negotiations with the federal government to determine where federal funding might be forthcoming, and budget constraints.

Rose said that projects won’t go ahead until his department has fully explored funding options from the federal government, which should take another two or three months.

Only three projects have been completed on the twinning of the 460-km highway corridor.

They are: Plett Road (a $3.5 million contract to Integrated Contractors Ltd. of Prince George, finished in 2006); Fletchers (a $2.8 million contract going to Peter’s Bros. Construction Ltd. of Penticton and finished in 2005). As well, a small improvement in Williams Lake is finished.

Currently only one project – the Simon Fraser Bridge – is under construction.

The ministry is hoping to put out to tender three new projects in 2008 with construction starting this year.

The projects to tender include the Prince George south weigh scale relocation and four-laning, Dale Lake road to Dragon Lake where the road will be twinned over a two-km area and Wright Station curves, near Lac La Hache for safety reasons.

Many projects in Phase 1 still need to be completed.

Cache Creek Mayor Ranta said he is eager to see construction start, not only because of the Olympics, but because traffic going through his area has rebounded to levels prior to the opening of the Coquihalla Highway.

He has discussed with other communities the federal government’s on-going work to twin sections of the Trans Canada. Cache Creek, lies at the junction for much of the east-west and north-south traffic on the highway.

“With the amount of traffic we are seeing,” he said.

“It’s long over-due.”

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