SUMMER 1992 Volume 1 Issue 2

Dal~ Hillman inspectsasign cel bratingthe Alaska High ay50th AnniversarJ

2 Road RII I/ I/er Summer 1992

A Fish Story , p 3

Bridging the Enviro nme nt p 4

From Booms to /Bugs , p 5.

Esker Pit Reclamation p 6

Plan t aTree 7

Day in the Work Life ..

Personnel .Connection , .Editor: Marilyn Wa.~()

Spptlight,O n .

On the Road · tO'H611y~'(6c)d

Yout' Fan Mail

In Search of Native Plants

ROAD RUNNER

Road Runner is the employeemaga zine for the British ColumbiaMinistry of Transportation andHighways, It is produced quarterlyby the Public Affairs Branch .

Published articles appearing inRoad Runner may be reprinted onlywith the permission of the Editor.

Kris Aitken has been appo intedRoad Runner Editor. Kris hasworked with the Ministry for twoyears and has had severa l yearsexperience in newsletter produc­tion and edit ing,

Direct enqiries to:

Road Runner EditorPublic Affairs5B-940 Blansh ard StreetVictoria, BC, V8W 3E6

Cover photo By Bob Matula

IntroWow' We asked for submissions for the "Working With Nature" edition and

submissions we go t . . , lots of them , from all aro und the province .

Thanks to our contributors, you can meet the Uropho ra Affinis, a bio logical controlage nt extrao rdinare ; drive a "Highway to Hollywood"; and learn abo ut a very simple,inex pe nsive way to he lp the environment.

Dead line for the Fall Road Runner is August 15, 1992, Stor ies shou ld be no more than650 words in length and please, send in a couple of pictu res (no sma ller than 4"x6") per

story so we have a cho ice, Pictures with peopl e are the best.

This is the second edition of the new Road Runner, yourcomments as to wh at works and what doesn 't, as well as sug­ges tions on how to improve the publication are apprec iated .It is, aftera ll, your magazine ,

For this issue , our thank s to staff contributors : Tom Parkin ,Brian Stone . Cathy Whitmore , Gerry LeBlanc, Lisa Hohban, LisaCapitanio, Wally Smith, Chris Thornhill , Ron Wicb e, AlPlanid en , John Clark and Fred Hughes,

Than ks also to the staff at South Peace and North PeaceDistricts for lettin g us put them in the Spo tlight.

Kris Aitken, Editor

Rem em ber last issue, the story "On the Road, , . To Laughter" abo ut Phyllis Dillerand j ackie Baird , Manager, Payro ll Opera tions, hea dquarters? Well there 's a seq uel. Jackiewas invited to attend Phyllis's annual Celebrity Mem orabilia Auction for the NationalParkinson Found ation at her Brentwood California Estate . June 7th.

And her-re-re-re's Jackie ... at the auction stand ing nex t to the Entertainment Tonightcameras . Jackie says they raised 5155,000.

Road Run ner Summer 1992 3

A FISH STORYAnnacis Highvvay

Environmental MitigationBy Brian Stone, Project Director , Fraser River Crossing and Connectors

Mike Kent , our new Dir ector ofHighway Environment , is tena ­cious - he doesn 't giv e up(which is lucky for us because if

he did we 'd find ourselves working underenviro nmenta l regulatory age nc ies thatwouldn 't allow us the independence wecurrently enjo y).

Tak e a look at the time and effor t it hastaken to less en the impact of co nstructionof the Alex Fraser Bridge in th e LowerMainland .

The Alex Fraser Bridge crosses the SouthArm of the Fraser River and , with a systemof feed er roads and bridges , also providesconnec tions over the Annacis Channe l.

The bridges and highwa y systemwere construc ted in 1984/86 and onlynow, seven years after opening, is thefinal mitigation taking pla ce. Andthat' s not the end of it. The mitigationwork will be monitored for a furtherthree years to eva luate its e ffec tive ­ness.

Let 's start from the beginning. Theenvironmental asp ects of the river aremanaged by the Fraser River Estu aryManagement Program (FREMP).

Annacis Highway and Alex FraserBridge co nstruc tio n disturbed and ,in som e cases, eliminated fish habitatareas along the river banks. To lessenthe se impa cts meant that replacementsites had to be negotiated with FREMPand constructed by this ministry.

Just one a/the things that needed to bedone before excavation.

One site , Patrick Island in th e AnnacisChannel , was developed in the ea rly 1980sduring the project design phase . Propertywas purchased to develop a fish habitatbackwater and construction was completedalong with the road and bridge works.

As this didn 't provide all the repla cementhabitat required by FREMP, a second sitewas located.

Th e south pier of the main spa n of theAlex Fraser Bridg e is located on the SouthSand Island . Thi s is a bit of land built outinto the river to provide ship co llision pro­tection for the pier and a staging area forbridge construct ion.

On co mp le tio n of th e bridge , th e sitewa s abandoned and , while fen ced , becameovergrown and used as a local dump.

To tran sform thi s sit e int o fish habitat ,sand behind the prot ecting dyke was exca­vated providing approximately 9000 squa remetres of pending area.

Pri or to excava tio n, th e undergrounde lec tr ic power lin e to th e bridge wasbrought above ground to cross the pond, amunicipal s to rm sewer was div ert ed to anew outfall in the river and the new slopeswere covered with a filter fabric and rip-rap(a layer of soccer-ball-size sto nes) to pro­vide bank protection .

Th e enviro nme nt to sup po rt thefish is p ro vid ed by Carex marshgrass tran spl ant ed from a donor siteon the Annacis Channel. A breach inthe dyke downstr eam from the pierprovides fish access.

Thanks to th e tenacit y o f MikeKent , and th rou gh negoti ation withthe Federal Department of Fish eriesand FREMP, the successful co nceptwas developed by tw o co nsu lt ingfirm s: P.A. Harde r and Kell er hall sEngin eering Serv ices. The det ail eddesign wa s pr epar ed by CBAEngin eering with enviro nmental co­ordination handled by Barbar aArcher.

Cons truc tion, by day labo ur, hasbeen supervi sed by Dan Templetonfrom the South Coast Region and theProject Mana gement and Administra­tion undertak en by Pa ul Baal ofMajor Projects Branch .

It 's a good team, worki ng on agreat project - o ne th at sh ouldmake us all proud to work fo rMoTH.

Visit th e site next time yo u 're inthe Low er Mainland.

4 Road Runner Summer 1992

Bridging theEnvironment.. When the spawning seaso n is

over, we 'll start the bridge. "That sta te me nt is not co m­ing fro m a meeting of envi-

ro n me nta lis ts but from a group o f bridgebu ilders planning co ns truc tio n o f the newSavona Bridge across the Thompson Riverwest of Kamloops.

Co ns truc tio n o f th e $8- million structureto replace th e ex is ting bridge (b u ilt in1928) will sta rt in lat e fall. Th e 1992 co n­struc t io n sta rt up co inc ides with an "o ffye ar" for pink sa lmo n spa w n ing. (Largeruns of "Pinks" spa wn every odd year.)

It's thi s kind of se ns itivity that is startingto give MoTH a reputation -r-r- as a govern­ment age ncy that ca res to le ad th e w aywhen it co mes to working with the e nvi­ronme nt.

Angela Buckingham, Senior Environmen ­tal Co-ordi nator at headquarters says, "Weknew th e Thompson River was a majorspawning area for pink salmo n, but we didnot kn ow where it took place rel ative tothe new brid ge site .

"It wa s vital that the new bridge does notaffect spaw ning because th e ministry can­not co mpe nsa te . We've had success withrearing habitat co mpensa tio n proj ects , butundertaking spawning habitat replacementin the Th ompson River is very risky busi­ness."

Thompson Okanagan Regional BridgeEngineer,John Coy ne, su rveys theSavona Bridge to be replaced whenspatuning season is over.

Through Region 2, En vi ronmentalSer vices hired a privat e fish er y consulta ntwho co nd uc te d extensive underwater andae rial surveys, obse rved th e spa w ning dis­tribution and mapped the critical spa wn ingareas.

Armed with this information project engi­nee rs were able to locate bridge piers thatavoid ed critical spa wning habitat.

"As a result , we re ceived approval toproceed with bridge building from the fed ­e ra l and provin cial fish ery agenc ies, " saysAngel a.

Th e fish ery co ns ulta n t will contin ue towork with the project engine e rs, to ensurecritica l spawning ar ea s ar e not di sturbedduring co nstruction.

On Cable, On-LineRoad Report is now on Rogers

Cable, pro viding up-t o-the-minutetravel conditions to the LowerMainland and Southern Vanco uverIsland, 24 hours a da y. There arenegotiation s now underway for DeltaCable, Whistler Cable and ShawCable to come on-line .

With the addition of Inet 2000 DataBase and Microlog, road report is alsoava ilable on-line. Access is a ph on ecall or a FAX away , as long as a bus i­ness or an individual has a personalcomputer, the software and amodem.

Congratulations to Rob McLean andMike Williams . The Road Rep ort isbecoming an electronic ambassadorfor the ministry and an importantpublic-safety initiative.

Road Runner Summer 1992 5

By Lisa Hobbau, Herbicide ProgramCo-ord inator, Region 4

This year, as a result of publicconcern over herbicide use, ourpermit" contain a host of new andmore rigid herbicide use restrictions.The most challenging is arequirement to locate and map alldomestic water sources within 30metres of the right-of-way prior toherbicide application.

Our first stop was the Water0~n~~eme~t Branch of the Ministryof Environment , Lands and Parks.Surely the agency that imposed therestriction would also have theinformation necessary to fulfill itsrequirements.

Unfortunately, this was not thecase. Wells, dugouts and other watersources are not required to beregistered .

We then proceeded to the field. Ad9pr...t8-door survey along roadsscheduled for treatment was initiatedon atrial basis. Empty houses,ferocious guard dogs, and .more than1000 kilometres of road to be coveredended our field survey in a hurry ,

A}l1ail survey was the final solution~ although it couldn't possiblyidentify all water sources and wasdependent on the co-operation ofre~i~.~~ts. The response to date has~~~.~2coLJraging ~t. a little over 10percent,

(A minor set back occurred in theNorth and South Peace HighwayDistricts when ou r surveyquestionna ire was misinterp reted as aplot by the government to obtain theinformation necessarv to tax residentsforwater use. But that's anotherstoty)

theh()ops have been jumped.,. ' re finally gefl ~ing up for

another successful,season of noxious\veed control in Region 4, with aminimum of risk to both theenvironment and the public.

JUMPINGHOOPS

Herbicide applicatio n using a 24:/c)()1contour- matte boom , last used in 79 79 .

13..1' Cathy Whitmore and Gerry Lettlanc,Kootenays Region

FromBoomsto Bugs!?

The majority of noxious weed infestations(a noxiou s weed is a pesk y, non-nativeplant which harms or redu ces crops or use­able ran geland ) on highway right s-of-wa ywere still controlled chemically with the useo f herbicid es but as th e min istry becam emore "environmentally awa re ," broad castspray ing of noxiou s weeds from boom s(see photo) was ab andoned in favour ofspo t spra ying of individual plants or weedpatches from hand-held equipment.

A "team" approach was developed withBiol ogi cal co ntro l agen ts , suc h as th e othe r ministries and livestock assoc iations,

Uro pho ra Affini s (tha t's a seed- head ga ll to ens ure co-ord ina tion of all avai lablefly) , are being introdu ced to cha llenge the resources for the control of noxious weeds,traditional che mica l weed co ntro l and to avoid overlapping programs.methods ... and th ey're In recent yea rs, grea te rwinning some gains. e mphas is has been pla ced

In th e late 1950s , th e o n an integrated approach,ministry began using herbi- co mbining b iological co n-cides for che mica l weed trol age nts and manualand bru sh co ntrol on high- co ntro l methods (s uc hway rights-of- way. By th e as han d weeding orea rly 1960s , another her bi- mowing) w ith jud iciouscide pr ogr am was ini tiated herbicide applications.- co mmo nly kn own as The intro d uc tio n o f bio-"shoulder sterilization." Uropbo ra Affin is, a seed-head logica l con tro l age nts o n

The n, in 1973, the govern - gal/pI' I~al ~l lIacl~s lsnap u.eed, highway rights-of-w ay isment declared a moratorium one o] BC s I IOXIOUS weeds . viewed as a long-term solu-on the use of chemical vege tation co ntrol. tion to th e pr oblem of noxiou s weed s,When the program started back up in 1974, designed to redu ce th e use of che mica lnew licen sin g and applicat or ce rtificatio n herbicid es as th e age nts becom e mo rerequ irem ents from th e Ministr y o f effec tive. Good news for us and our envi-Environm ent meant the end of widesp read ronment.chemical brush co ntro l. Sho ulde r ste riliza-tion continued only to maintain drainage ofgravel shoulders.

6 Road Runner Summer 1992

Esker Pit ReclamationBy Lisa Capitanio, a co-op stude nt ill Region 5

In the North West reg ion, we 're becom­ing more aware of the need to incorpo­rate environme nta l plan s in the designof projects. Increasingly, o ur pr ojects

cross with environme ntal issues. The EskerCreek Project is one exa mple.

The min ist ry needed a rea dy so urce ofgravel for the Esker Creek Overpass Projectacross the CNR tracks , 30 kilometres west ofTerrace on High way 16. A natural source ofgrave l was fo und on a near by bar in th eSkeena River. The ministry logged along theedge of the site to gai n access and th enbegan excava ting grave l.

Whe n gravel p its are no lo nge r needed,the ministry is simp ly required to fill the siteand rep lant the logged vege tation.

But, on th is project, we saw an opportu­nity to learn mor e about ways to minimizethe impac t of the gravel p it on the environ­ment and even , if we co uld , improve o nnature. We decide d to crea te co ho rearin ghabitat to help increase fish productivity inthe area.

Wh e n the pro ject was co mp le te d, th emitigation work began in co nsultation withthe Min ist ry o f Envi ro nme nt and th e

Department of Fish eriesa nd th e assis ta nce ofEnvironment Services.

Th e slo pes of th e pitwe re co n toured andcha nne ls o f varyi ngdepths we re du g to pro­vide access to theSkeena Rive r. Specia lw ildseed mixtures we repla nted to crea te foo d,and co tto nwood trees tocrea te cover - shadeand she lter.

Fis h sa mpling d uringthe fall of 1991 and throu gh the winter incli­ca te that at least 5,000 fish , mainl y juven ileco ho , ente re d the recl aimed Esker GravelPit during the summer of 1990 to overwin­ter. Gro undwater inflows into the pit appar­ently provid ed the perfect water temp era­tures for fish throughout the winter.

A recent study, between December 1991and March 1992, sho we d fish populati onsincreased significantly du e to d issolved oxy­gen levels, provi ding conditions even moresuitab le for ove rwinte r survival.

A b io log ist's report sta te d, "This s itesho uld have the potenti al to provide rearingha bitat for substantially higher fish numbe rsas cover and vegetation establish."

Armed w ith th is kn o wl edge , the nextphase is to inc rease produ ctivity. We planto pl ant mor e co ttonwood and put tr eesint o th e po nd wh ich we refer to as largeo rgan ic debri s (LOD) . We 're hoping tha t,over time , leaf litter an d insects fro m adja­ce nt vegetation will provide the main foodsource for fish as it re-es tablishes.

Watch out... PleaseThe ce ntre line sec tion was co nce rne d abo ut their crew's safe ty

on the road with drivers rush ing past without ca re, ang ry at anyde lay.

Educa tion, they suggested, was the answe r. Let everyone knowwhat they're doi ng to keep the public safe and maybe the publicwou ld then try a little harder to keep o ur ce nt re line an d ot he rroad crews safe.

The resu lt: a print, rad io and television campaig n. The them e is"Watch for our crews, as you cru ise." Watch out for it.

And wa tch out for o ur ce ntre line , br idge resurfacing and sea l­coati ng crews, as you cruise too . Give the m a friendly hon k and awave (they 're so used to angry ho nks) and le t them know weappreciate what they do for us.

Plant aTreeFor the Environment

By WalZY Sm ith, Roadside Developmen t Superuisor,South Coast Region

The earth is warming. Carbon dioxide released in the atmosphereis trapping the sun 's energy, turning the earth into a "greenhouse. "Average globa l temperatures are the highest on record .

I'd like to tell yo u about so me thi ng very easy and inexp en sivethat you can do to make a difference: plant a tree .

Not only do trees cool the earth; the y purify air and water , pro­tect watershed areas, enhance wildl ife habit ats and prevent so il ero­sion. That's why maintaining healthy forests is so important.

Here's the facts about trees:

• Trees absorb carbo n dioxide from the atmos phe re and turn itinto life-giving oxyge n. On e squa re metre of leaf surface emits1.07 grams of oxyge n.

• Trees shade pavement keeping temperatures lower.

• Trees ca n redu ce th e vis ua l g lare from p aved sur faces andadjacent buildings by as much as 60 per cent.

• Trees ca n reduce your energy bills by shad ing your hou se inthe summer and pro tecting it in the winter.

• A tree , if supplied with ade quate water will produce the sameeffect as five air conditione rs running 20 hours per day. A largetree can transpire up to 360 litres of water a day.

• A 12-metre tree ca n p roduce 4.5 kilogram s o f carbo hydra tesfrom 190 litres of dissolved minerals via ph otosynthesis. Thesecar bo hydrates form the new gro wth on the plant and becom ea so urce of food for wildlife.

The re are many oppo rtunities within the ministry and in our ow nbac kyards to help the environment and, possibly, avo id an environ­ment al crisis. Do something abo ut it. Plant a tree.

A row of "Crimson King " maple trees recently p la nted on High way« I in Hope by the South Coast Roadside Development Crew .

Road Runner Summer 1992 7

20 Yearsof JetsamBy Chris Thornhill, Fort George District

How do yo u unload th e jet sam of twent y yea rs ofministry ope rations? That was the dil emma I recently facedwhen I was g ive n the mandate to clea n up a gravel p it inPrince George.

The "jetsa m" co ns iste d of bent lam p standards, damagedand rusting culverts, spe nt grade r blades, abou t a zillion usedtires and tonnes of othe r discarded materials.

Ob viou sly, th is was go ing to entail more tha n a Satu rdayaf te rnoo n in th eIamily garage!

With a growingemp has is on thethr ee R's (reduce ,reuse , recycle) ,it's importa nt forus to be able toloo k at ways ofdisposing of thesemat erials in apositive and co n­structive way.

I co ntrac te dF&K Salvage tore mo ve ma te rialto appro pr iate re­cycle rs.

The stee l wasse nt to Allan 'sScrap and Salvagewhere it was bulk loaded and sent to Vanco uver.

One -tho usa nd -six-hundred-and-fifty light tru ck tires and160 lar ge tru ck/ gr ad er tires were p icked up by Trac TireRecov er y, w hic h shi p pe d th e m off to Western Rubbe rPro du cts in New Westminste r. Th ey grind spent tires intorubber crumble (raw rubber) and se ll this resource to a vari­e ty of re -m anufacturing companies throughout Wes ternCanada.

(Some of the products that origina te from rubber crumbleinclude : rubber matting for rail crossi ngs , rubber for sportingeve nts, interlock ing bricks, embedded track flange filler forLRT such as SkyTrain, side walk panels, etc.)

Whil e thi s isn 't th e ans wer to a ll o f our waste disposa lp robl em s, it's co mfo rting to know ou r ministry has join ed agrowing network of supp liers , produ ce rs and distrib utorsintent on becoming part of the solution.

Rest areas g ive travellers a breate f rom the m on otony ofdri uing .

National Transportation Week

8 Road Ru n ner Summer 1992

Rest AreasUpgraded1~) ' \Val~y Smith, Roadside DeuelopmentSupervisor. South Coast Regton

Safety rest areas along highways allo wmotorists to safe ly ex it the travell ed wayand give them a break from the mon oton yand fat igue of drivi ng . Th e min istry isresponsib le fo r about 170 rest areas alongprovinc ia l hig hw ays ran ging from sma llsi tes w ith pit to ile ts to lar ge areas withmodern facilities.

In May of 1991 , th e min istry e mba rkedo n a program to up grad e provincial sa fetyrest area s ites. The progra m includedupgrad ing high-u se re st a rea si tes alo ngB.C. h ighways from pit toil et facilitie s tofull-service facilities.

The initial priority involved approximate­ly 10 location s around the province , whi chwo uld boost the total number of sites hav­ing full-service facilities to 26.

The rehabilitation included prov ision s forwa te r, e lec tric ity , telephone , se wa ge di s­posal and th e co ns truc tio n o f heat edrestroom buildings.

Johnson Slough Rest Area, 17 km west ofHope o n Highway #7, in Frase r Vall e yDistr ict wa s chosen as th e first up gradingproject in South Coast Region .

Rehabilitati on included drilling a well ,installing a sewage system, side wa lks, fen c­ing , pi cnic tables (i nclud ing a speciall ydesigned, wheelchair accessible tabl e) anda heated was hroom building .

The building is unique , as it ha s a se pa ­rate room which is wheelch air accessib le .Th is roo m, as well as th e "Me ns" and"Wo me ns" rooms , is eq uipped with bab ychange faciliti es. Interi or lighting , ventila­tion and hand dryers are controlled by sen­so rs to co nse rve e ne rgy and a public tel e­ph on e is attache d to the building as well asa drinking fountain .

Since co mple tio n of co nstructio n earlythis spring, man y motorists have ex presse dth ei r approva l o f th e improvements atJohnson Slough Rest Area .

The continuing safety rest area upgradingprogram will further enhance the ministry'sfavourable image to the publi c.

All around the province , ministry staffwere bu sy organizing and parti cipatingin activitie s to ce le b rate Natio na l Tran­sporta tion We ek , June 7-13. Th e th emeof thi s yea r's event wa s "Transpo rtatio nand Technology."

Here 's a list of some of the activities .

REGION 1Set -up mall Displ ays at Robson Square

and Royal Ce n tre in Van couver and inse ve ra l public librari es throughout th eLower Mainland, and sponso red an NTWColouring Contest.

REGION 2Set-up an o u tdoo r displ ay at Village

Gree n Mall in Vernon in co n junc tio nwith the Ok anagan Tran sportation Cluband an indoor /outdoor display atAberd een Mall in Kamloops, parti cipatedin a car rally at 100 Mile House , held ano pen house at South Cariboo District ,South Cariboo Distri ct sub-office , Nico laDistrict and Okanagan District sub-office.

REGION 3Se t-up a mall displ a y (Histo ry o f

Highways in the Kootenays) at Cha hko ­Mika in Nelson and held an ope n hou seat Selkirk District office.

REGION4Set-up a display at Dawson Cree k Mall

on theme of "Mainta in ing Safe Passagethrough the Years."

REGION 5Set-up a di splay at Skeena Mall in

Terrace and the Smithers Centre , spon­sored a poster co ntest, challenged eachbranch as well as other ministries andothe r local transportation companies to atri cycl e ra ce , and participated in th eSeafest Parade.

REGION 6Held an o pe n house at region offi ce ,

co -s po nso re d service ads with IslandHighway Services Ltd. (maintenance co n­tractor) , as well as produced a half-hoursho w o n Shaw Cable in Nanaimo areahosted by Don Smith the RegionalHighway Planner and a feature story inthe Times-Colonist on Island road histo­ry, specifically, bridges.

We'll have pictures in the nextRoad Runner.

Road Runner Summer 1992 9

Enabling the Disabled

The Marin e Sect ion hired Pete r R. Ash (demonst rati ng a dropcurb above) , a member of the B.C. Paraplegic Association AdvisoryCommittee, whose du ties include assessing access for the disa bledo n fe rr ies and terminals . Pet e r also wo rks with personnel onEmployment Equity issues spec ific to the disabled.

The ministry was highlighted , along with other ministries, in aB.C. Government display at Independence '92 - a three-da y tradeshow April 22-25 at B.C. Place in Vancouver that promoted prod­ucts and services for the disab led .

We thought you'd like to know what we do to able the disabl edin servicing the public 's need.

• Drop curbs on sidewa lks/traffic islands at ped estrian crossings.

• Reduced grades with flat landings at intervals on pedestrianoverpasses.

• Studies to intensify traffic signal lamps for the colour blind andseeing impaired .

• Improved rest area sites and buildings (when upgraded ornew ly des igned) including washrooms and picnic tablesdesigned to bette r accommodate the disabled .

• Audible signa ls for pedestrian crossings where need is identified.

• Increased walk signal times where need is identified .

• Evaluatio n of ferry termina ls/structures to identify mean s toenhance accessibility to the disabled .

• Modifications to vesse l passenger lou nges, doorways and rampentranceways as we ll as washrooms.

• Larger and brighter ferry signage for the see ing impaired.

ABetter Way"There's got to be a better way ."

Th at 's the message o ur minister , ArtCharbo nnea u gave roadb uilders and con­sulting engineers of B.C. whe n he talkedabo ut funding capital highway projects.

He was addressing more than 250 del­egates at the wrap-up dinner, sponsoredby the B.C. Ro adbuilde rs , fo r th e th irdannua l join t se minar sponsored by theministry, B.C. Roadbuilders and the Con­sulting Engineers of B.C. at the RichmondInn, April 28.

Cha rbo nnea u talked of sinking fund s,tolls and co mbina tio ns of fundi ng alte r­nat ives to "avo id the ro lle r coaster o fcapital funding that takes place , based onavailable funds."

"We provide a sink ing fund for schooland hosp ital constructio n which is paidou t over a period of 20 or 25 yea rs ­why can we not do that with major high­way constructio n whic h wou ld have alife span of some 50 to 70 years?"

O ur min ist er's speech co ncl uded aday-long se mina r tha t en compassed anad ministrative sess ion ded icated to ourminis try's proposed cha nges tothe ma jor work agreement , fol­lowed by co nsulting engineers 'presenta tion on workers ' safetyand roadbuilder 's presenta tionon bo nding .

A job well do ne by PatBon ser (Construction Contractsand Services Eng ineering , head­quarters) in organiz ing the con­fere nce an d by Rod neyCha pma n (Director, Co nst ruc­tion Engineering , head quarters)and Russ Fuller (Manager,

Contract Administration) in guiding theministry's work session.

Minis ter Art Charbonneau (left) on tourofheadquarters, stops in at FinancialSystems and talks to Ruth Wittenbllrg.Senior Manager and Michael Losier ,Co-ord inator, Application andTechnical SIIPPO/1 .

10 Road Runner Summer 1992

IN THE FIELD

REGION 1Darrell Bay Upgrade

To compliment the Porteau Cove pro ject,Regio nal Dire ctor Jo e Jensen approvedS100,000 to upgrade ferry facilities at DarrellBay , south of Squamish . This upgradeenables the mini stry to operate emergencyferry service be tween Porteau Cove andDarrell Bay if the Sea-to-Sky Highway isclosed by a slide north of Porteau .

Kudos for Cassiar!

Dale Crip ps , Pro ject Superv iso r fo r th eproject , rece ived the Natio nal Tran spor­tation Week "Award of Achievement " at theNT\XT Awards dinner in Vanco uve r, June 11.The Cass ia r project a lso won th e 1992"Award of Excellence " from the ConsultingEngine ers of B.C. South Coast sa lutes Daleand the en tire Cassiar project team!

Fo r the Kids

Bravo Region 1. Hal f th e sta ff donned"Wear Jean s for Kids" butt ons o n Mar ch30th in su pport of th e B.C. Chi ld re n 'sHosp ital - raisi ng a lot of awa reness andover S200. Now that's comm unity spirit!

Ministry at the PNE

The ministry will aga in have a display atth e Sho wcase Briti sh Columb ia Pavil iond urin g th e PNE, Aug us t 21-Se p te mbe r 7 ,1992. Come and visit us.

Signs Warn

The new electro nic cha ngeable messagesigns on the Sumas Prairie sec tion of Trans­Cana da High way are a real plu s for trafficcontrol. Durin g a sodium hydroxide chemi­cal spill wh ich closed High way 15 from theTrans-Canada to Highway 10 on May 1st, thesig n at Lickman Road wa rne d westbou ndmotorists abo ut the closure.

Cong ratulations Pet er Boudreau , HQ ,Elec tr ica l and Mark Pratt , Area Man ager ,Fraser Valley for delivering a quality produ ct.

Ralph Retires

Ralph Polnau retired from So uth CoastRegion afte r en joy ing 35 yea rs with th eminis try . Ralph 's MoTH ca ree r includesope rating a grade r out of Cloverdale, wor k­ing on dr ill rigs with Geotec h, hauling forthe Centre line Mark ing crews and , finally,with the Hydros eeder cre w. The Road sideDevelopment crew presented him a plaqueattached to a piece of minist ry cedar picnictable sea t, fitt ed with an o ld br asshyd ro seeder no zzle . Ralph and hi s wifeJoan plan to spo il their gra ndc hild ren andenjoy th eir new re tire me nt home inPenticton.

Porteau Cove Wins

Geo ff Vickery of Reid , Crowthe r acce ptedthe "Award of Merit" from the Cons ultingEnginee rs of B.C. for th e Porteau Coveemergency moori ng facility . Hat s off toGeoff and his colleag ues at Reid , Crowthe rand to the Project Managers: Ellis Meads of

B.C. Ferrie s and Phil Munn ,fo r thi s award and th e"Featur e Project of the Year"awa rd from th e Pro jectManagement Institute.

Portea u Cove,award win ning"Fea ture Proj ect ofthe Yea r."

REGION 2Thanks Mother Nature

Completion of lO-kiiom etres of four-lan ­ing from Barnhart vale to Campbe ll Cree knear Kaml oops, finishes ano the r sec tion inth e o ngo ing effo rt to upgr ad e th e Tran s­Cana da Highway. Cons truc tio n sta rte d inMay o f 1990 and was co mp le te d sixmonths ahead of schedule, thanks to moth­er nature .

Beat the Clock

Region 2 will beat the clock once againwith ano the r major proj ect - four-laningon Highway 97 from Kel owna Airp ort toWinfi eld - despite a major co ntrove rsythat threatened to slow things do wn.

Th e people o f Winfield petitionedaga ins t th e co ntracto r. Th ey wer en 'timp ressed w ith o the r work Pet e rs Bro s .had done in the area.

Th e ministry and co ntrac to r workedtogether and , thanks to a lot of pro-activemedia/public relations , thi s difficult situa ­tion was turn ed around. The public is nowpleased with the project man agem ent andwill be doubly pleased wh en the project isco mpleted Oc tober 31, 1992, nine monthsahe ad of schedule.

Wildlife Viewing

In resp onse to a growing int e rest inwildlife viewing, the provincial governme ntha s es tablishe d a Wildlife Watch programinv olving th e ministri es of Tourism andEnvironment , Lands and Parks. MoTH's roleis to install the program signs .

March 5, Bill Coates, Area Man ager fromOsoyoos, atte nde d the first meeting of theO ka naga n Regional Wildlife ViewingSteering Committee , wh ich was se t up toidentify view ing sites in our region. Fifteensites we re located in the Thompson-Oka­nagan . Sixty sites were ide ntified province­wide.

NewDHM

May 25th, Steve Hu sb and , Acting DHMturn ed over the Vern on fort to a new lead­e r, Dan Will iam s - an import from theKooten ays. For the pas t five months, Stevehas ke pt the dis trict running smoothly. Ajob we ll done Steve and a welcome Danfrom the staff in Region 2.

REGION 3The Columbia Connection

Regio n 3 he ld a "Name the News le tte rContest" for their staff publi cation. The win­ner was the Regional Director himse lf ­Gordon Sutherland - for his The ColumbiaConnection. A good choice sin ce the Co­lumbi a River runs through all four districts.The region is now ho lding a contest for thedesign of a region logo for its publi cation .

Sue Laleem en ( left) a nd Pam Olson werep resented a wards, when Exec utiueCom m ittee met in Nelson, for their workon the Occupatio nal Health (Sue)and \'(7elln e,\:\' Com mittees (Pa m).

REGION 4New Digs

Staff in Nor th Peace District are againha ppy as cla ms. Th ey were to be th efirst occupants of th e new provincialgovernment building in Fort SI. John ,but they ended up being last. No matter!

After almost two months of living outof boxes , they 're putting down root sand staff is looking forwa rd to greetingvisitors as they gear up for Rendezvou s'92. The y invite you to drop by if you 'rein their neck of the woods.

Frank receiving a Meritorious ServiceAward. presented hy Cordo n Sutherland.Regional Director of the Kootenays Regi on .

"Leslie and the Potlicleers "performing Kingofthe Road at Frank 's retirement party ,iVlay 2, 1992 .

April Fools

Som e of the staff in South Pea ce dis­tri ct co mposed a letter to all AreaManagers that hav e private vehicles onmil eage that stated : "Due to th e highcost to the ministry, no mileage will bepaid as of fiscal year end."

There were a lot of pa le, sick lookingAre a Managers wa lking around theoffice .

The staff responsible are now all book­ing holidays for next April 1st, becausethey know revenge will be served.

Road Ru n ner Summer 1992 11

I IN THE FIELD

King of the Road

Frank Sawatzky, Project Manager, Pavingretired afte r working with the mini str y for36 years . A part y wa s held in Frank 's hon­our in Nelson and 300 peopl e attended.

Frank received a number of gifts includ­ing a se ven- foo t-long BBQ apron with allof his fav ourite sayin gs on it and a cha irfrom the Savoy Hotel Pub , wh ere he 's beena regular patron for 20 years.

A sp ecial so ng was written in his ho no ur(to the tune of "King of the Road") and wasperformed by "Leslie and the Potl icke rs,"also known as Susan Lakeman and the menon the Regional Paving Crews.

Frank has the distin ction of having everycop y of the Road Runn er eve r publ ish ed .We hop e this one 's a keep er too.

Training for Tomorrow

The Central! Nor th East is und ergoin ga compre he ns ive review of its Region alTraining Plan to identify how to increasefrequen cy and effec tiveness of training.Staff is ask ed to help out by co mpletingtra ining profiles along with PerformancePlanning Appraisal s . Th es e "pro files"will give personnel a cle arer picture ofwhat is needed to better "target" trainin gcourses.

An enhanced Regional Training Pro ­gram is expec ted this Fall.

12 Road Ru n ner Summer 1992

IN THE FIELD

REGION 5In the Community

At the Fair

In April, the North West Region took partin two trad e fairs . Th e firs t was in BurnsLak e , April 10-11. Lak es District staff puttogether an exce llent display and worked inthe booth answering questions.

The second fair was in Terrace , April 24­25. Skee na District and region al staff repre­se nted the ministry with an interestin g dis­play that includ ed a 1951 transit system andtwo colour mon itors: one showing the high­ways road inventor y. We felt our involve­ment was worthwhile based on the enthusi­asm and num ber of people we spoke to.

Career Day

May 7th, we particip ated in Caree rs Day'92 at the North West Community College ,spo nsored by th e Kermode Friendsh ipSoc ie ty to in trodu ce high sc hool and co l­lege stude nts to vario us ca reers. Than ks toregion al office staff Gail McFadden , ShawnMcKinl ey, Bob Penner , Lisa Cap ita nio (aco -o p stude nt) and Jan e Spa rkes ; andSkee na District and Geo technical staff ToddBroughton and Dave Carson.

Wilf Taekema , o ur Se nior DesignTechnicia n, gave an excellent presentationdescribing the ministry and var ious careerswithin the orga nization.

Parade Season

May 15th ma rked th e beginning o fParade Season in the North West. This yearthe region developed a "Highways" muralmounted on the maintenan ce co ntrac to r'sflatbed and added lots of balloons, bannersand flow er s. Carey Derkson (EngineeringAide from Lakes District ) brou ght o ut hisboys Riley and Clayton, and rea lly go t intoth e sp irit o f things. Riley dr essed as aclo wn and Clayto n a mini -highways work­e r, whil e Ca rey ca me o ut as "O rangeMan "!?! Thanks to Lak es Distri ctMaintenance for all their help !

We plan to participate in several paradesthis yea r. The next on e is in Prin ce Ruperton June 13th. Join us if you're up this way.

REGION 6Writer Inspires Kids

A well-known Toronto book publish erhas just released Green Giants: Rainforest ofthe Pacific Northwest - a child ren 's bookwritten by our very ow n Tom Parkin , PublicInformation Office r for Van couver IslandRegion .

"It discusses forests and their managementin a way which allows kids to better under­stand co nfro ntatio nal news events ," saysTom. "I'm hopeful it will inspire and warnkids of the threats to our last big trees."

The book is part of Douglas & McIntyre's"Earth Care Series" featuring 48-pages , 64full-colour photographs and three maps.

Greening the Gulf

An isl and off th e Suns hine Coast, withhelp from MoTH , did its bit toward "gree n­in g th e gulf" last fall w he n th ey a ide d inthe rem oval of local relics . Lasqu eti Islandlies in the Stra it of Georg ia off Parksvill eand is rea ch ed by priv ate co mmute r ferryfrom Vancouver Island . Vehicl es arrive andleave only by barge , cha rte red at owne r'sexpe nse .

Over th e ye ars , abando ne d ve hiclesaccumulated on the island , including so meleft at a MoTH gravel pit and mainten an ceyard.

Whe n MoTH agreed to se ll th e pit to anew owner, the island 's community assoc ia­tion aske d if we would work with them incleaning up that, and other "unsightly sites ."

Central Islan d Distr ict co mmitte d $4,100tow ard the effort. Employees from the localmaint en ance co ntrac tor - Island HighwayServices Ltd . - don ated machine time andlab o ur to hau l and stack 154 wrecked orabandoned veh icles, four fridges , dozens ofaci d ba tteries, and assorted junk o nto aba rge fo r di spos al thro ugh a me tal recy­cling com pany.

Volu ntee rs hand-pi ck ed the co llec tio nareas clean . Congra tulations to CID fortheir env ironme nt and community-minded­support. We were proud to lend a hand.

AII/o Bodies and batteries p rior to tru cki ngto ba rge. Photo by Craig Peterson

Road Ru n ner Summer 1992 13

IN THE FIELD

Tim Steuen s, Director, High wayPlanning p racticing / or "E" Day.

HEADQUARTERSNew Environment Branch

The Highwa y Environment Branch bringstogether two former Highway Engin eeringBran ch departments - EnvironmentalServices and Roadside Development.

The servi ces of these departments hav elong been integral with the design and con­struc tion of highways. But , it's probably asafe bet that peopl e don 't reali ze the effortthat went into protectin g fish habitat at abridge crossing or ensur ing migration pat­terns of de er were not adversely affected byconstruction of a wide divided highway. Andthe grasses and lupine flow ers on thosesteep embankments were always there, right?

With the formation of th is br an ch , th eministry has recognized the increa sin gimportance of environmental responsibility,and emphasized its commitment to providingse rvice excellence with respect to se ns itiveenvironmental, social and aesthetic issues.

The Director, Mike Kent , is looking for­ward to building a branch that is second tonon e in Nor th Ameri ca wh en it comes todeliv ering program s and se rvices that areinnovative and technically sound.

A strong netw ork of liaison with the bestconsultants in th e field has already beenestablished , and it is a priority for the Branchto be highly accessible to all offices requiringassistance with environmental mitigation androadside development matters.

(/eji to right) Mike Kent. Director HiglJlI'CIYEnuiron ntent Bra nch and some ofhis staffAngela Bu ckingham'. jane \'(/aters andAl Planiden.

"E" Day

Monday, April 13thwas "E"arthquake Day.

Eve rybody in head ­quarters had to du ckand co ve r under theirdesk s - eve n execu­tive . It wa s all part ofan earthqu ak e drill toprepare us for the realthing . Th an ks to th eo rga nizers ,S teveNethe rto n and ga ng,we knew what to do.

Snow Flakes Win

Cong ratula tio ns to Snow Avalanch ePrograms employees Mike Bois sonneault ,Gordon Bonwi ck, and Mark Gale as well asChris Garre tt-Pe tts fro m Highway Eng ine ­e ring and Karen Boi ssonneault. Th eyentered as the "Snow Flakes" in the GardenCity , 10-kil ometre ro ad race and pl acedsecond in the Corpo rate Team category .

Budgets vs . Major Projects

A few months ba ck , the "budget" groupin headquarters challenged the "major pro­jects" cre w to a hock ey tourney ... andwon . The come back challenge for a base­ball ga me and th e "ma jor p rojects" teamwon. What in the nam e of "employee well­ness" is next?

Major Projects team with trophy and kids

Cong ratulations Rodney.

New Construction Branch

May 12th, th e new headqu art e rs High ­way Construction Branch ope ned for busi­ness. Th e branc h 's directo r, RodneyChapman and his staff will provide ministryemployees , co ntrac tors and co ns ultantsguidance in the areas of co ns truc tion sys­tems en gine ering, highway co ns truc tio neng ineering , co ntrac t se rvices , claims, thecost estimating system, insurance and bondsand standard spec ifications.

"Car" Free

Wednesda y, Jun e 3rd was "Air Clean/Ca rFree" day in Victoria. The cha llenge was topark your car and walk, bicycle , carpool ortake transit to work. Staff was asked to signa tally board in th e lobby: 45 walk ed , 33rode a bik e , 75 took transit , 40 carpooled ,and 14 did a co mbina tio n (car/ b ike ,car/ walk, etc.).

14 Road RII II ncr Summe r 1992

Happy 50th, Alaska HigIn 1942, fea r o f a Japanese invasion during World War II dro ve

16,000 America n and Canadian so ldiers/civilians to work 24 hours aday to bu ild a 2,400 km temporary, military-supply line - co nnect­ing Daw son Creek, S.c. to Fairbanks, Alaska - within e ight and ahalf months.

America n mi lita ry lead er s sa w th e ro ute as a d irec t land link toAlaska to co nnect a half-d ozen ex isting airfields. Business and politi­ca l gro u ps in Ca na da a nd th e Sta tes sa w the ro ad as th e ke y todevelopi ng the spa rse ly populate d northwest ern co rner o f No rthAmerica .

The tho usa nds of men a nd hu ndr eds o f mach ines bu ild ing therou te need ed a co nstant flow of enormo us amo unts of fo od , gas andmac hinery parts .

According to an army pamphle t at the time: "O nce they pu sh edback the wi lderness , men and machines mu st build we ll or starve .Hence the road was dra ined, graded , bridged and surface d in ma nyse ctions to su pply the advanci ng wor k points. Th e te mporary roadbecame the (Alaska) highway."

It wa s ba ckbreaking work. O ne hundred rivers and five mountainranges were crossed . Along the way, mach inery sna pped , strea msflooded and rip ped ou t bri dges , rai n un d id d ays wo rth of toil inhours , an d mud swallowed ca ts and tractors. Instant towns sp rangup along the rou te.

The road was built without much regard for grades. At one po int, asign was erected that read : "Suicide Hill, prepare to meet thy maker."

The intention was to go ba ck over the route and buil d a properl yengi neered road. Seve ral co nstruction co ntrac ts were let but , beforelon g, the threat of a Jap anese invasion ended and no further co ntractswere und ertaken .

O ne stre tch that was co mpleted with good alignment and gradeand a gravel surface - from Dawson Creek to Charlie Lake .

Public travel on the highway beyond Cha rlie Lake was restri cteduntil 1948 because of the limited number of facilities and accommoda­tions.

But there was no turning back . The road was an ope n door to theno rth and the peopl e came.

Canada Takes Over

It was an American invasion. Ottawa sa t back and le t the U.S. dowhat it want ed.

Even afte r the highway was co mp leted in November 1942, main ­tenance was carried o ut by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

It wasn 't un til Ap ril 1, 1946 that th e highway w ithin th e Yuko nand British Columbia was passed to Canada . Maintenance then came

u nde r the Ro yal Ca na dianEngin eer s , with the ir head qu ar­ters in Whiteh orse .

Ap ril 1, 1964 , ma intenancewas tran sferred to th eDe p artme nt o f Publ ic Wo rksCanada , Whiteh orse.

Over the yea rs , Public Wo rksCa nada 's re constru cti on andpaving program s have eliminat­e d most of th e "p ro b le ms andcha llenges " ex perienced bydr ivers in the early yea rs, includ­ing Suicide Hill.

The Ministry's Role

Th e Surveys Branch of theDepartment of Lands co nd uc tedthe first le gal sur veys for th eAlas ka Highway in 1942. Earlyin 1961, th e Department ofHighwa ys be gan to re-surve ythe Alaska Highway rights-o f­wa y to a hi gh er st andardbetween Daw son Creek and thePeace River.

buiayDuring the 1970s, ministry officials held regu­

lar meetings with Public Works , Canada(White horse), to set standards for Alask aHighway reconstru ction. After that standard hadbeen achieved, the route through H.C. was to bepassed to the province.

From 1976 until 1987, one of th e ministry'semp loyees, Frank Cla pp arranged for andadministered surve ys for some 250 miles ofhighway between Mile 83 and Fort Nelson (Mile300), sectio ns at Kledo Cree k and at Mun choLake some distance west of Fort Nelson as wellas one se ction from Lower Post to the Yukonbord er.

To date , the province ha s juri sdi ction of theAlaska Highway rights-of-way to the Yukon bor­der but is responsibl e for maintaining the routeon ly from Mile "0" at Dawson Creek to Mile 83.6plus, two kilometres through Fort Nelson. PublicWorks Canada still maintains the highwa y fromMIle 83.6 to Mile 627 at the Yukon bord er.

The Reflector

Road Runner Summer 1992 15

Driving theAlaska HighwayBy Frank: Clapp, retired ministry employee

Whil e ['ve dr iven th e length of th eAlaska Highway to its farthest westerl ypoint in British Columbia, most of my tripscovered the 300 miles between DawsonCreek and Fort Nelson.

Between 1961 and 1978, I travelled thearea sometimes twice a yea r - a week inth e summer and another in th e fall .Initially the highway north of Mile 83 was,for the most part , in its or igin al locati on .Som e sections had been widened , whil e

man y other porti ons were narrow and hadlittle gravel, if any.

In places wh ere the gumbo had work edits way to th e surface , and w he n it wasraining, it was all one co uld do to stay onthe road .

O n one tr ip , I recall see ing numerousca mpe r vans and ca rs from th e UnitedStat es , o ff the roa d and wait ing for it todr y or a tru ck to come a lo ng and pullthem out.

When it was dry, on man y section s, onehad little difficulty det ermining wheth er ornot there we re onco ming vehicl es, as theirpr esence was announced by clouds o fdust that co uld be see n from miles away.

For me , one of th e most mem or abl e

s igh ts o n thi s high way has a lwavs beenthe road leading up to Tru tch (Mile 200) .At one point, looking north, one cou ld seesec tions of the road far ahead, not as oneco ntinuo us stretc h bu t as three , one offse tfrom the other, as the road wo und its wayup and over the ridge thro ugh the darkgreen spruce .

The realign ed high way no lo nger goesover Trutch "Mo unta in" but skirts it on aeasy , almos t level grad ient.

Today, the Alaska Highway is a pleasureto d rive - wit h its good alignment, wideroadway, easy grades and paved surface .Much of its 300 foot right-of-way has beenclear ed wh ich allows fo r ma ny scenicviews of the surround ing hills an d distantmountains.

16 Road Ru nner Summer 1992

Your ServeThe challenge is ou t. Ron Wiehe, Public Information Cfficer in Region 4, sen t inthis list ofSeruice Excellence performance highlights that were compiled hy

Regional Manager, Operations Laioren Wagar. I'm sure other regions and branchesba te some Service Excellen ce performances tbey ca n brag about too. Send them tothe attention oftbe Road Ru nner Editor . We 'd love to share them .

We often work co -operatively withlo cal co mmun ities in order to assi stth em with program s o n th eir streetnetworks .

Kevin Higgins of Robson District hasbeen advising/ ass isting McBrideVillage with their efforts to have MainStree t paved , and we ha ve no directresponsibilit y to do so .

Now that's service!

Similar to th e generalinformation booklet, theresometimes is need for alist o f st aff th at includesjob titl es and a sho rtdescription of duties/interests/background.

Fort George had such alist for Vince Collins andDan Doyl e when th eyvisited their office , whi chwas ver y helpful to themin me eting the staff. Hatsoff to yo ur innovati onErrol Redman '

We often have the task ofexplaining our programs and

details of the technologies we use , to ind i­vid uals or groups wh o 've pr econceiv edideas or solu tions.

John Clark's staff has been address ing anumber of dra inage problem s in the NorthPeace District with much enthusiasm. Johnderi ves g rea t personal satisfacti on fromso lving problem s that crea te satisfied cus­tom ers. Both he and his staff have realizeda number of "small wins" along the road toa larger , more significant contribution.

Reg Fredrick son , Nec hako Distri ct hashad some succ ess (finally) in convinc ingFran coi s Lake area resid en ts tha t seal coat­ing the road from Fraser Lake will providean acceptable surface , and paving wouldnot be achi evabl e due to high cos t. Greatstuff!

There's nothing really special aboutService Excellence, except the sinceredesire to serve our customers... so let 'skeep it going!

Kevin H igg ins, DHM, Robson

Traffic contro l and assurance of minimaldisruption/delay is of param ount impo r­tance during construction work s.

Go rdo n Wagn er and North CaribooDistrict sta ff becam e inv ol ved via publicrelati ons/medi a advertising and inn ovativeon-site sc he d uling co ntro ls to mi ni mizep roblems during deck resurfacin g o f th eMoffat Stree t Bridge , with excellent results.First class work!

We are incr ea singly ex pec ted to keepour public informed of our programs, andto solicit their input and participation.

Tracy Coope r, DHM, Ce ntra l Ca ribooDistri ct goes to great length s to meet withco mmunity groups , parent/teacher associa­tions, school boards, etc. and much of it isafter hours . . . way to go Tracy!'

~ ~ ~ ~

same time made th eFinancial Cle rks jobsmore in teresting andchallenging

~ ~ ~ ~

We 're often as ke dto meet wi th newl ye lec te d offic ials orstaff from other agen­cies to inform them ofthe ministry and itsprograms.

Fort George staffprepared an informationbooklet abo ut the dis-trict , its staff and servi ces , whi ch has beenwell received.

A sea lcoating proj ect ran into problemswh en the as pha lt would not cure or "se t"pr operl y, and as a result man y ve h iclesen de d up with tar spo ts on them from thestones that were picked up .

Fort George e ns ured th at we paid forany cle aning done to these ve hicles, andacce pted invoices at the district office.

It has been not ed by man y individualstha t response time to qu eri es/ complaints,etc. is one area where we must improve .

Stan Glad ysz in our South Peace Districtgets ou r nod on this one . He answe rs every­thing imm ediately , and it doesn 't matt erwhat else he is involved with at the time!!

"Exce llence" in the de live ry of our ser­vices is so me thing that is pra cti ced eve ryday by ma ny o f the sta ff and man ag er sthroughout the Central/North East. Here area few of the things that have been happen ­ing rece ntly:

Excellence Challenge

Service to employees is so me times for­gotten in our sea rch for excellence in cus­tomer service.

Fred Hu gh es , Man ager of Fina ncia lServices and his team found a way toimprove se rvice to employees and to othe rbus iness un its. Regional Finan cial Clerkswer e d ivided into th ree teams. Each tea mis respo nsib le for all financia l aspects (pay­ro ll, cost di stribut io n , travel vo uc he rs ,invoice and co ntract payments , tru staccount rep lenishme nt) for a group of busi­ness un its . Thanks ga ng . You put thehum an tou ch back into business and at the

Unsung Hero Sings

Raelyn Scott , in the headquarters PayrollDepartment , has made a differ ence toStikine District emp loyees, says TracyHubner.

Deputy Minist er , Vince Collins wrote toRaelyn to congratulate her saying, "Many ofour people in ce ntra l administra tio n areofte n th e un sung hero es by qu ietl y b uteffec tive ly ca rryi ng o ut th e ir duties in awa y th at keeps th e wh eel s greased. Youdeveloped th e right cus to me r focu s inregard to th e fo lks in the Stikine Distri ctand I thank you for it."

What exactly did Raelyn do?

Tracy said, "On a 'Service Excellence ' trip

to Victoria , I intro duced myself to Raelynand to ld her abo ut o ur d ist rict. We don 'thave a ban k. Th e closest one is seven toeight hours south of us.

"Whe n th e odd pay che q ue doesn 't godir ect deposit , for wh atev er reason , it's amajor incon venience to the employee whoreceives it.

"Well, we 've had a co uple of instan ceswh er e th e co mputer pr int ed o ne of o urcheques for manu al dep osit. But it provedno problem becau se Rael yn sto pped it ,ph on ed us to let us know and voluntee redto deposit the che q ue in the appropr ia tebank ."

Road Runner Summer 1992 17

SuggestionAvvardWinners

Mission ImpossibleThe ministry was asked to set up an audi o-control signal for the 13.c. government dis­

play at Ind ep enden ce '92 - the biggest conference for the disab led ever - (see articleon page 9).

Al Sadler's electr ical crew at headqu arters sa id , "Sure, we can set so mething up in twoweek s." Publi c Affairs Bran ch told them they had one week . They heaved a co llec tivesigh, said it was a challenge to do the impossible and then did it!

Congra tula tions .. . . Dave Trodd , Jamie Hill , Gary Stajduhar and contractor WayneMurphy too. And , thanks for not saying we didn 't give you enough time, so tough.

Jamie Hill, Tra.111c Signal Technicia n, setting up the audio-con trol signa lfor Independen ce '92 .

Regional Director (right) Neville Hopeprese nts Dean A nderson his award.

Dean F. Anderson, Regional Develop­ment Technician , Vancouver IslandRegion , was awarded S500 in March forhis idea to simplify closure proceduresfor Section IV roads wh ich avoided sur­vey costs and paperwork for both ourministry and the Lands Title Office.

Marie Stebbing, Senior Budget Officer,hea dquarters , won for her sugge stion tomake financial information , Chart ofAccounts Manual, available on-lineinstead of just in hard copy .

Barb Fowles, Personnel OperationsAssistant at headquarters, was awardedfor her initiative in creating a word pro­cessing glossary for performance plan­ning and appraisal forms.

Chuck Milne and Karen Scherr, NorthIsland District Office cut some red tapewhen they suggested that annu al regis­tration requirements for companies rent­ing or leasing equipment to the ministrybe eliminated.

Dick Jones and Pearl Allen , DistrictOffice in Hop e, won for their sugges tionto print related forms, which are alwaysused together, back-to-back on the samepiece of paper.

Nellie Thompson, Thompson Office.suggested that only black ink pens bestocked to redu ce the problem of fadedsignatures on photocopies.

18 Road Runuer Sum mer 1992

Purveyors of Green Slurry13)1 Tom H7. Parki n, PIINic Informat ion Cff icer, van cou i er Islalid Regioll

"Here, why don 't yo u give it a try?" sa idIan Walker. He passed the nozzle and handco ntrols to me, keeping the micropho nes inorder to di re ct dri ver Ralph Haywardbe low.

I poin ted the no zzle an d o pened thepum p thrott le. A je t of green sp ray sho t ou twith force , arci ng 30 me tres ac ross a d itchand onto a rece ntly-clea re d e mba nk me n tnea r French Creek (o n the new inlan d sec­tion of the Vanco uver Isl an d High wayProject),

"No wonder firefigh ters lo ve the irwork ," I thoug ht."Sq u irt ing waterlo ng distances rais­es the competitivesp irit in every boy.Th es e guys get todo it with the mostsophi sti catedeq u ipme n t avail­able."

I was standingatop one of fourh y d r o s e e d e r swhi ch MoTH owns.Th ese "mach ines"are used to controlerosion and beau ti­fy scarred slopesaro und the pro­vince . Ian andcrew, wh ich alsoincluded Rick Ph il­brick an d KirbyRussel , are ded icat­ed to the Lower Mainland , Sunshine Coast,and Vancouve r Island areas.

Like o ld- time "p ha rmac is ts " w ho soldme dicine fro m th e back o f a tra ve ll ingwagon , these pilgrims travel abo ut dispen s­ing a for mula of grass/ flowe r/ clove r seed ,grains of fall rye , kelp meal , fertilizer , woodfibe r and tackifier,

Th is "elixir of beauty" is churned in with11,000 litr es of water inside th e tank andlaid do wn as a green slurry with the spraygun.

J\ Dayin the

Work Life

Hydroseed crew Ralph Hayward (left) a ndIan Walk er beside their tru cle.

Tom Parkin photo

Th e colo ur is in th e d yed wood fibremulch . It se rves to mark areas already cov­ered and then bleaches to ea rth ton e withina we ek.

We were at Fren ch Creek because heavyra ins th e pr e viou s winter had ca use d so ilerosion o n a larg e em bankment. Efforts todam and filter the run off were useful on asmall sca le but a vege tative cover with a sta­ble roo t sys tem was required for lon g-termcontrol.

Fall rye provides this by grow ing fast andshading the grass, which is slower to estab­lish , and more tende r. The rye d oesn 'treseed, but by next year th e g rass

and legumes arcsecure e no ug h todo the job alone ,

"We work incon junctio n w ithp roj e ct supe rv i­sors, " says Ian ,"and also wit harea managersth rou gh the Reg­iona l Ro adsideD e v e l o p m e n tTech nician , BruceNixon on Vancou­ver Isla nd andWa lly Sm ith inSo uth Coast Re­gion. Th is work isimportant enoughth at we co me atth eir beck andca ll , rath er th anwait until we ha velot s to do in o nearea ."

Sin ce I hadnearl y e mp tied

the entire tank in just three or four minutesand still left some areas bare of the greenslurry, Ian took over th e co ntro ls to fini shthe job .

With gra ceful swoo ps of restorative"e lix ir ," he quickly cove red the spots I'dmissed, while avoiding an adjacent water­course .

I wa s reminded of a landscape painter,awatercolourist on a grand scale . Ourhydroseeding crews are surely both artistsand environmentalists in their own spe cialty.

Roa c! NUll ner Summer 1992 19

Employment Equity in ActionA recent thr ee-day wor kshop in Victor ia

was an eye-o pener fo r me mb er s of th eministry's Employment Equity Committee .

Th ey heard first -h and from a gues tspeake r with cerebral palsy abo ut the barri ­ers faced by di sabl ed people in gett ing ajob . And from an aborig ina l wom an whodescri bed th e di scr iminati on th at FirstNations peopl e have ex pe rienced since theIndian Act was proclaimed in 1876. A num ­ber o f o the r spea ke rs ca me to di scu ssemployment equity.

Having ga ine d a better under st andingabo ut emp loy me nt equi ty and th e issu essurrounding it, the committee is now devel­op ing an ac tio n pl an for th e ministry'semployment equity program.

Employme nt equity in the public servicewill be a poli cy of the provincial gove rn­ment. The ministr y's goa l is to attrac t andretain th e best available workfor ce ; oneth at also refl ects th e di versit y of Briti shColumbia's population .

Four grou ps ha ve been hist ori call yund er-represent ed in our ministry, or large­ly co nfine d to lower-level jobs : women ,ab o riginal people , visible min orities andperson s with disabilities.

Th e Emp loy me nt Equ ity Commi ttee 'smandate is to raise awaren ess and developaction plans to achieve employme nt equitywithin the ministry.

The co mmittee , whi ch has merged withthe Wom en 's Programs Committee to formone gro up, includes the foll owing repre­se ntatives from headquart ers: Dan Doyle ,ADM, Highways O pe ra tio ns ; VeronicaWalsh , Highways Oper ati ons ; BarbHarrison , Women's Progr am s Alte rna teAdv iso r, Deputy Mini st er 's O ffice ; MacGo do, Planning and Major Proj ect s ; Je ffKnight , Pu bli c Affa irs ; Cyndy Dint e r,Min istry Emp loy men t Eq uity Re pr esen t­ative, Personnel Services ; and Pa ul ineStewart, Administrative Services.

And the region al represe ntatives : SharlieHuffman , Women 's Pro gr ams Adviso r,Central/North East ; Lynda Jo nes , So uthCoast; Joanne Harde r , Thompson­Oka nagan ; Maureen McCrae , Koot enays ;Nella Todd , Central/North East (Cha ir);Marilyn Matt son , North West ; Jud yRobertson , Vancou ver Island.

A progress report on theco mmittee 's action plan willappear in the next issu e ofRoad Runner.

(left to right).I1/((V Roberts on, Region 6;

Sylvia Holla nd, ActionPia n Workshop leadel;'

Pauline Steuia rt, HQ;and Da vid Robertson, HQ.

To Second, Dr Not To SecondBy Fred Hugh es, Regi on 4

That is the question you may ask when you see a secondment notice . Fred Hughesas ke d him sel f the sa me qu estion . His answe r may hel p you the next time you'rewondering wheth er to second , or not to second .

With mixed fee lings I a pplie d for a second men t into th e posi tio n of Manage r,Finance and Administration , Highw ays Ope rations in Victor ia, While it was an oppo r­tunity to work closel y with Dan Doyle , Assistan t Deputy Min ist e r, High waysOpe rations , it meant a long abse nce from my two families (personal and work).

Th rowi ng cautio n to the wind , I applied and in Augu st was acce pted for a five ­week term commencing January 6th.

Arriving right afte r Christmas , my first week se rved as a settling-in period . Overthe next four, I worked on a number of things includ ing canvass ing headquarters staffto see how they go t to work (only 24 per cent drive), participating in producing issuepap ers for our 92/93 budget submission, and review ing fina nc ial reports for profes­sional services branches.

At the 11th hour, as I was prepa ring to return home, the incumbent of this positionopted to delay her return. (Jud y Stokes was enjoying her time at home with her five­month-old so n , Tory .) Afte r co ns ulting with my wife and my regional d irector, Iacce pted the offer to stay an additional four weeks.

To un wind after hou rs, I picked up a new hobby - gem and mineral collecting. Ibo ug ht so me books on th e subject and a few samples , but now that I'm ba ck inPrince George , I'll be out with my geologist pick and field guide to co llect my ownsamples.

Reflecting up on my ex perience, I'd encourage anyone who has an opportunity toparticipate in a secondment to do so . As a trai ning an d persona l growth vehicle , Ihave nothing but positive feeli ngs abo ut it and I learn ed some things about head­quarters.

One , the Deputy and Ass ista n t Dep ut ies ar e rea l peo ple . Two, the staff inexecutive branch is as dedicated and hardworking as any in the province . And three ,the pressures that ex ist at headquarters to ans we r imposs ible questions within impos­sible deadlines are real.

20 Roa d RUII /w r Summer 1992

Introducing ....Perso nnel Services Branch welcomes

Bob Marsh , our new Manager, Health andSafety . Bob join s us with an extens ivebackground in the field, hav ing previouslyworked wit h Workers ' Compensa tionBoard , Juan de Fuca Hospital and recentlyas a private sector consu ltant.

Bob is also a dedicated athlete and par­ticipant in Iron-man Triath lons, So what'san Iron-Man Triathlon? A race that includesrunning 26.2 miles , swi mming 2.4 milesand cycling 112 miles. I think we 've fou nda role model for employee wellness!

Recru itment and Selection

How to Beat the OddsWhen you apply on a job , do yo u fee l

you 've just bought a ticket on the lottery? Itdoesn 't have to be a matter of luck.

When you se e an ad ve rtise men t in the"Postings' that interests yo u , look at th eeducation and experience qua lifications.

The qualifications listed are the minimumrequired to qua lify for the position . If youmeet them, great. If you don 't , stop now!You mus t mee t the ba sic ed uca tio n andexperience qu alifications to be co nsideredin the selection process.

Often , it's not "black and wh ite." The admay refer to an eq uiva len t combina tion ofeducation and experience . If thi s is thecase , phone the contact pe rso n listed andfind out what it means.

Oka y, you meet the bas ic qualificatio ns .Wha t about the preferred qua lifica tions?What do they mean?

Preferred qua lifications mayor may notbe used by the employer to furt her screenapplicants. This often depends on the qua l­ity and quantity of ap plications received ona competition.

If you meet both the basic and preferredqua lifications yo u wi ll, in all likel ihood ,be considered for further testi ng and /oran interview. Shou ld you decide to apply.

Research

Before you dec ide, get as much inforrna­tion as possible about the job . Make up alist of questions and call the contact personif one is listed. (If not, find out the immedi­ate su pervisor.) Try to arra nge a meet ing.Then call the personnel office and ask for acopy of the job desc ription.

Now you know what the job's all abo utand need to ask yourself: Am I still interest­ed? Is the job wh at I thou ght it was? Do Ihave the ed ucation, expe rience, know ledgeand skills requ ired to do the job? If the jobis in ano ther location , am I and my familyprepared to move? Can I afford to relocate?

So , you decide to go for it. Now yo uhave to se ll yo urse lf. Use yo ur resea rchinfo rmation. In your ap plication, describeyour educa tion and ex pe rience in terms ofthe job req uirements. Outline wh at you'vedone an d how it relates to the job d utiesand resp onsibilities. (Often the applicationform has space limitation s, don't be afraidto attach additional pages or use a coveringletter.)

In prov iding this information, do n't exag­gera te but be thorou gh . How we ll yo ucomplete you r application will often deter­mine if you'll be called for interview.

Success!

You've just been invited for an interviewand a test - we ll do ne! Wha t do yo u donow ? At th is stage , the emp loyer will be

examini ng yo ur knowledge and sk ills asthey pertain to the job requirements.

From your research, you've a copy of thejob description and possibly not es tak enfrom your discussion with the supervisor.Review this information to prep are yourselffor questions that might be asked.

If you' re conce rned how you might reactin an interview, practice. Prepare questionsth at might be asked and do a "ro le pl ay"with a frien d or co lleague . Have him/herask you the questions.

If yo u co me pr epar ed to th e int er viewyou 'll be mo re co nfide nt and knowl edge­able than those that aren 't. This may just bethe edge you need.

App lying on a competition doesn 't haveto be so lely a matte r of cha nce. By apply­ing co mmo n se nse , understanding th ese lectio n process and doing some researchyou can be in control.

The bett e r p repared yo u are, the mo relikely you are to win. GO FOR IT !

Meet Our 1992 Ells

Road RIIIlIler Summer 1992 21

NO , we are not talk ing about littl ecrea tures from othe r p lane ts ; tha twou ld be ETs. EITs are stude nt"Enginee rs in Training."

The way the program works is, eng inee r­ing stude nts receive job ex pe rience wh ilethe ministry crea tes a pool of po tentialemployees.

Trainees co mp lete two assig nme ntsunder th e mentorship of a p rofessionalengineer. Each ass ignme nt lasts approxi­mately one year.

EDUARD MISKA is completing co ursestow ard a Masters Degre e in Electri cal andComp ute r Engineering. Edua rd 's previ ou swork history was with the Canadian Forceswhere he was responsibl e for the qu alit yassura nce of co mba t and elec trical systemsfor the (TRUMP) Tribal Class Upda te andModernization Proj ect. He decided thatSystem s Engineer ing was the area in whichhe wished to spec ialize.

BRIGID MCGORAN has her degree inEle ctr ica l Engineering . She previou slyworked with Environment in the System sServices Bran ch , Victoria . He r first ass ign­ment will be in the Highway Maintenan ceBranch , Victoria .

Eduard Miska with his mentor, (right)Dr. \\'iei- \\'illZOIl . Sen ior Traffic HnRineer.beadquarters.

DENNIS BICKEL is attaining his degr eein Civil Engin eering. He lives in Rich mondbut hi s first ass ignme nt will bring him toVictori a to work in the HighwayMaintenance Branch .

DAVID GOODING attained his degree inCivil Engineering . He 's lived in northernB.C. fo r a number of yea rs but his initialas signme nt will be in th e HighwayEngineering Branch , Victoria.

RONDA ZHENG has her Masters Degree ,Ch ina, in Civil Engineering and has nowcompleted her co urse work for a Ph.D. Shepr eviously work ed as a Co-op Gr aduateEngineer in Highway Engineering, Victor ia.Ronda 's in itial as signment will be in th eHighway Engineering Branch , Victoria.

Bright Mc cloran with her mentor,Ga rtb Shearing .

DENNIS NADON is attaining his degreein Comp uter Engineeri ng. His initial assign­men t will be in Construction Eng ine ering ,Victoria . Dennis has had prev io us workexperie nce wi th the Ministry of Forests inthe Information Systems Branch.

STEPHEN ALEXANDER is attaining hisdegree in Geolog ical Engineering with anem phas is o n Soil and Rock Mec hanics aswell as Gro undwa ter Enginee ring . Stephenworked last su mmer in th e Geotechn ica land Mat e rial s Branch in th e Kam loopsoffice. His initi al assignment will be withthe High way Geotec hnical Branch , Region5, Terrace .

MARIO PONZIN I is atta in ing his degreein Civil Engin ee ring . He gradua ted fro mBCIT with a diplom a in Civil and Structura lTechnol ogy and began wor king wi th theminist ry in 1981. In 1988 he dec ided tospecialize in civil engineering, took specialeducation leave and enro lled at UBC. Mariowill be beginnin g his first ass ignment in theConstruction and Design Branch , Region 4,Prince George.

ALEXA KARLICKI has attai ne d he rd egree in Civil Engineer ing from theUnive rsity of British Columbia. Alexa hasworked pr eviously as a junio r engi nee rwith the Department of Nationa l Defen ce .Her initial assignm ent with the ministry willtake her to the Kootenays Regional Office .

Contest!We need ca rtoons/g ra phics for o ur

co lumns. We thought staff might like to trytheir hand at it.

Send us yo ur ideas to illu str ate "Yo urServe," "Spotlight on..." and "The Ret1ector."The winning illustration will appear in theFall Road Runn er , so make sure your illus­tration is in to the Editor by August 15.

22 Road Runner Summer 1992

Spotlight on...

We p ut two districts in the Spo tlight this issu e to celebrate the50th anniuersary oftbe Alaska High way.

Sta n Gladyz, District High ways Manager

Florence Calland,District ClerkReception

Fern Leman. (left)Hired Equipment Clerk

Doreen MeermanDistrict Clerk

Regulatory

La rry BallardA rea Manager. Bridges

Maria Braden , District Finance a ndAdmin istration Cfficer

South Peace DistrictPhotos by Ken Seto

LOCATION: On the Albe rta border Southof the Peace River and north east of HartMountains

Office: Dawson Cree k

Lane Kilometres of Road : 2,787

Numbe r of Bridges: 93

Numbe r of District staff: 20

DHM: Stan Gladysz

Main Towns: Dawson Cree k,Tum bler Ridge , Chetwynd

Main High ways: 97, , 29

Mainten ance Contractor: Peace CountryMaintenance Ltd.

Scenic Poin ts: Old Kiskat inaw Bridge,Kinueo Falls, Peace River Valley,Mile Zero of Alaska

Highway Activities: Hiking, sno wmo biling,sk iing, cross -country skiing ,cam ping , fishing.

Mile "0"

In 1942 , th e village of Dawson Creekwas a slee py little community with ap proxi­mately 500 people. Early March of that yea rthe co mmunity woke up to th e first trooptrain of U.S. Military Eng ineers arriving toco nstruc t th e Alas ka Highw ay. DawsonCreek has since been kno wn as Mile "0" ofthe Alaska Highway.

Rendezvous '92 in South Peace

Here 's just a peek at what's happening inthe South Peace District for Rendezvou s '92this summer. You' re invited to co me on upand join the celebra tions .

Jul y 7 and 8, Dawson Cree k host s th eAirmada (re-enac tme nt of the histori c ferr y­ing of military aircraft during the war).

In Aug ust , the re 's a fair and rodeo inDawson Creek the 7th to 9th, ano the r fairand ro deo in Tumbler Ridge th e 15th to17th , and the B.C. Seniors Summer Ga mesin Dawson Creek the 25th to 28th.

In Sep te mber, th e re 's a specia l "Ra llyeAlaska Highway '92 " that starts in DawsonCreek Septembe r 17 and ends in Fairb ank s,Alaska o n the 27th. Events are planned forseven categories of ve hicles: antique, mili­tary, passenger cars, motorhom es , comme r­cia l, pi ckup tru cks and co mpetitio n cars.Anyo ne ca n e nter. Call (604) 583-1197 fo rinformation .

Jim Steu -art (sta nd ing) Area Managerandjim Parker (seated) Area l'via nager

(sta nd i ng from leJi to right)Alex Fraser, Senior Engineering AidePeter Howell,DistrictDeuelopmentTechStan Beaulieu ,District TechPaul Con ne lly,Enginering Aide(seated leftto right)Joe Daga sso ,Engineering AideCu rtis McTa oish,Engineering A ide

NolanAlderson,AreaManager,TumblerNidge

oan iel Blais (le.!iJArea ManagerTrainee

Dtoain Horn la nd(sta nd ing)Area ManagerCbeturvnd

Ab Rattray (right)A rea Manager

Road Runner Summ er 1992 23

North Peace DistrictPhotos hy Bob Matu la

LOCATION: In the northeast co rne r ofB.C., bordering o n Alberta to the eas tand the Yukon and North WestTerritories to the north

Offices: District Office - Fort St. JohnSub-Office - Fort NelsonRegion al Dep ot - Fort St. John

Lane Kilometr es of Road : 4,710

Number of Bridges: 105

Numbe r of Staff: 23 (plus a region co mmtech , electrician and yardman)

District High ways Manager : John Clark

Main Towns: Fort St. John, Fort Nelson,Hudson Hope , Taylor

Main Highways: 97, 29 and 77

Mainten ance Contractor : Northland RoadServices

Sceni c Points: WA C. Bennett Dam , TrutchMountain, Liard Hot Springs, MunchoLake , Summit Lake

Activities: Skiing, fishing, hunting, snowmo­biling , hik ing, boating, trail rides, go lfing,motorcross

Historic Mileposts

Byjobn Cla rk, DffM

North Peace District co -ordina ted installa­tion of Historic Mileposts and othe r signs forthe Alaska Highw ay 50th Anniversary.

Thi s was a unique s ituatio n as PublicWorks Canada , ma int ains th e AlaskaHighwa y from Mile 83.6 (Km 135) to Mile627 (Km 1009) a t th e Yu kon border. Th eprovincial govern ment o nly has jurisd ictionover the use of the highway rights-of-way.

,'vim )' Bourget (sitting) a ndHalt Brown , two ofour District Clerks

24 Road Runner Summer 1992

(left) Gail Mart in, S. District Clerkand Debra Pool, F&A Offic er

(right)j ohn Cla rk,DHMa ndDale Hillm an,DistrictDevelopmentTech

(right) Ray Fortier ,

Engineering Assistant;Todd Lang, EA J; Colin

Anerson EngineeringAide 3; Rex Wallace,

EA2 and District Tech,Latorence Olson

Alla n Edga r, Area Manager Roads; Floyd Ericlestad, A rea Manager Bridges; CliffTboceson,A rea Manager Roads; Dennis Culling. Area Manage r Roads; Bah Kettn er. Area Manager,Roads; Leslie Elder, Area Manager Train ee and Brian Deakin, A rea Manager Roads(sta nd ing left to right ab oue)

(left) Sha nnon Savardand Pat Quinlan,ou I' newest mem hersto the d istrict staff

Rendezvous '92 in North Peace

Highl igh ts o f events in the North Pea ceDistri ct th is summer: In Jul y, For t St. Johnhosts the Airmada the 7th and 8th , a rodeothe 10th to 12th, a War Bird Fun Fly th e11th to 12th , and an International Airshowon the 19th of July.

In Aug ust, Tay lor hosts the "Wo rld ClassGo ldpa nn ing Cha mp io ns h ips" o n th e 1stand 2nd , Fort St. John hosts a summe r Artsan d Cra fts Fest ival the 5th and 6th , aScave nger Hun t and the Dinosaur PaddlersRaft Race on the 30th.

Bruce Craig. District Deuelopment Techand Ray Tardiff, Project Tech

Our district had to determine histori c loca­tions alon g 1000 km of highway and in theend , co-ordinated installation of 180 signs.

We woul d like to ex p ress o ur thanks to

all involved for their support and co-ope ra­t ion , w ith special thanks to headqu art er sTraffic Branch , in particular , Neil Vickers.

Thi s distri ct is involv ed in preparation sfor an Air Sho w in Fort St. John, July 19th .We ex tend an invitation for all to driv e theAlaska Highway and join the celebrations.

By Tom Parkin, Public Information Officer, Region 6

ON THE ROAD...To Hollywood

J\II of us have favourite drives ­routes we e njoy for th e ir scene ry,hi~tory, design, or for personal mern­ones. For me , suc h a highway is

#37A in northwestern B.C.

Offi ciall y, MoTH ca lls it the Ste wa rtHighwa y, but locals kn ow it as the GlacierHighway - a path of pavem ent whichbran ches off the Cassiar Highway 37, takesyo u to Stewart , B.C. and th en ends justbeyond Hyder, Alaska.

The 64-kilometre Glacier Highway is theonly road which links B.C. di rectl y toAlaska. It cuts thr ou gh th e mounta ins atBear Pass, then plunges to tidew ater downa narrow valley.

Thi s is neck -kinking cou ntry . Massiv eglac iers flow within ec ho distan ce of th ero ad . Nowhe re in B.C. can yo u dri ve soclose to such prehi storic ice .

First into view is the crystalline cascadeof Bear Glacier , which paws down a moun­tain sid e to crac k off ice be rgs into a roa d­side lake. (In 1968, a photo in Road Runnershowe d th is glacier gri nd ing ag a ins t th eslo pe whe re the highway now ru ns . Awarming cl imate has since ca used th eBear's toe to melt back.)

A hundred-metres ab ove the p resenthighway is a sing le-lane ruin of a roa d . Itlook s lik e a goa t trail , bu t was o nce th eway ca rs bounced int o this va lley , sur­rounded by ice field capped summits.

These mo unta ins once held the wo rld 'srecor d for a win ter 's snowfa ll , with anann ua l ave rag e o f e ight metres. InDecem ber 1984, Stewa rt se t the Canad ianrecord for a 24-hour pe riod - 102 cm !Conseque ntly, many of our avala nche spe­cialists start their careers in Cassiar cou ntry.

Sma ll wonder th at win te r scenes fo rthe movies the Thing and Bear Is/and, star­ring Donald Suthe rla nd and VanessaRed grave , wer e sho t here . More recen tly,The Iceman , sta rring Timothy Hut to nthawed out here in 1982.

In the sp ring of 1985, I was ac tua llyinvolved in a film segmen t shot on a glacierab ove thi s high wa y. Walt Disn ey Co. hadhir ed a friend , Bob Ennis, as directo r ofphotography for "Portra its o f Cana da ," afilm sho wn in Telecom Canada's pavilion atExpo '86.

(You may rem ember Te lecom fo r itsround theatre giving view ers a 360-degreesce ne . Some readers may rem ember Bobalso as producer of a Bridge to Tomorrow,the ministry's sto ry of building the AnnacisBridge.)

For my part , we stoo d two oil barrels onstilts o n th e run-o ut fan of an av alanc hepath . In sid e th em were rented (b utinsured' ) cameras.

Tr igger ing the ca me ras by rem ote co n­trol , we lifted off in a hel icopte r. Above ,MoTH ava lanche techs se t off charges in acorn ice (a massive snow ove rhang) to starta slide which thr eatened to wi pe o ut theroad .

Down it ca me, ga the ring speed like afor mula one race r. Film audiences saw arolling white cloud get closer . .. close r .It was approaching from every angle .There was no esca pe!

By flipping the film in alte rnate pro jec­to rs, an illu sion had been created of asnowy bowl with a ridge all a round fromwhich multipl e ava lanches were abo ut tosmother viewers .

Death screamed down from every direc­tion until the screen went BLACK.

It has been s ix yea rs now, and I'm sti llawa iting that call from Californ ia. Well . ..maybe I'm safer stayi ng ou t of stunts any ­way.

Still, I'll never forget the Glacier Highway- it's as close as I've come to a High wayto Hollywood.

Road Run ner Summer 1992 25

PerfectPartnership

The Professional Partnership Programoperates through the HighwaysOperations Branch in headqu arters. Itprovides the ministry with a ready sourceof problem-solving and research work atredu ced cost'), while giving students prac­tical (and paid) research experienceneeded to complete a Masters Degree.The perfect partnership.

Right now, UBC is the only universityinvolved in the program. A good workingrelationship has bee n establishedbetween individual professors and direc­tors to ident ify projects as well as toensure each student is well supervisedand guided.

Here's just a few of the projects we'reworking on with our "partners."

Avalanche Run Out Distances forthe B.C. Coastal Range by Dan Nixon(a former Avalanche Technician withMoTH) will allow roadway designs toinclude better provisions for avoidingavalanches .

Development of Hybrid BridgeEvaluation Program by A. Felberuses some of the work done by Bucklandand Taylor on the assessment of theSecond Narrows Bridge.

Shear Strength of Existing ConcreteBridges by Scott Webster is of greatinterest for the assessment of bridges forseismic (earthquake) response.

Seismic Foundation Evaluation ofFive Bridge Sites in the Richmond!Delta Area by Kevin Ritcher directlyrelates to MoTH projects in the area.

Testing of MoTHRoadside Barriersby Rob Thomson will prod uce about50 per cent of the world 's know ledge ofthe performance of segmented concretebarriers.

Design of Roads by Ronda Zhengdeve lops a state-of-the-art design proce­dure using Limited State Analysis andProbabilities and promises to produ cestandards that can be flexibly applied tobetter meet pro ject requirements.

Trip Diversion by Paul de Leurinvestigates the decision-making processused by motorists who must choosebetween two routes.

26 Road Runner Summer 1992

Happy 125th,Canada

This year we celebrate our 125th yearof nationhood. Across Canada and inB.C., many special events were held onJuly 1st, Canada Day. But there's.still.sixmonths left to show your support, to cel­ebrate what makes us unique: our envi­ronment, our supportive attitude beyondour borders, and our people and theirachievements. The event theme.is "TheFuture Begins with You ."

Road Runner SwapPublic Inform ation Officer, Tom Parkin

(390-6122) in Nanaimo is looking tocomplete his set of old Road Runners. Inparticular , he wants issues prior .to 1967.

"I'm willing to trade.s-he says. "If youhave any of these issues I'll trade yousome spares from my library, I offt:fthree for one."

Up for swap are April 7 3, Summer '79,Fall '79, Autumn '80, Spring '81, Summerof '81, Fall '81, Spring '82, Summer '8(',Fall '87, Winter '87 and December 1988.

Bra.v.o. F&ADfficers.. '.' .. . ',- " , - '. -' , , - ,. ',,' . ' - . " ' , .".".-', ,.-. ,. " ....-.," . .

and ManagersA summary report showed that , in

February, a total of 86per cent of min­istry suppliers were paid within 30 dayswhich is up considerably from the 71 percent pa id within the same time.frame in

Janli<l.ry.. Attht: 9i§~ris~ It:Yt:I,jDf~Qr~Hry,95 per cent of ministry suppliers-werepaid within 30 days.

Bob Buckingham, ~irec~or,:Fina~c~and Administration (headquarters} says,"This impressive performance is the resultof collective efforts of everyone involvedin the disbursement process. Thank-youfor making this ministry the very best ingovernment at making timely paymentsto our suppliers and contractors."

Your Fan MailDedication andContinued Concern

Mr. Tra cy Cooper , District HighwaysManager (Central Cariboo), and his staffmust be congratulated on the dedi cationand co ntinued conc e rn they di splayedthroughout th e (C h im ney Lake Road )paving co ntract. They were in contact withproperty ow ne rs co ntin ually to ens uresatisfaction regarding driveway elevations.Mr. Coope r was out here several times inthe evenings.

Jim Fraser, Director, Cb im ney-Felleer LakesLandholders Association

Attention to Concerns

Thank yo u , Peter Wightman , for th eattention you and your staff have given toour concerns over local road conditions inthe Nanoose area . We realize road impr­ovement funds have been scarce and weare very pleased you will be able to finishportions of Dolphin Drive and PowderPoint Road that needed resurfacing.

Charles R. Gabr, President, NanoosePeninsula Oumers & Residents Assoc ia tion

Extra Care and Attention(Sent to SNC La ualin, Cassia r Con nectorp roject managem ent co ntrac tor)

I would like to thank your company forthe ex tra care and attention you gave ourstudents whil e the Cass iar Connec tor wasunder co ns truc tio n . Th e stude nts safet ywa s ass ured with th e bu s pi ck up andextra supe rvisors.

Lesley Cha m bers, Chairpe rson, BegbieParent 's Com m ittee

Generous and Quick

Thanks Ron Wiebe (Public InformationOffi cer , Central/Nort h East region) forge nerous ly and qui ckl y send ing picturesand negatives of the Alask a Highway forour exhibit! Because you were so timely, itma d e my job so mu ch easier (and lessstres sful) and we were able to meet ourdeadl ine .

A nd rea A . Veach, Department ofTran spor­tation and Public Facilities, Sta te of Alaska

Excellent Treatment

(From a local Van couuerIslandpublication: The Yellow Point Fly er)

In 1981 , Gordon and Jan e Vipond hadto move their business when the Ministryof Transportation and Highways widenedth e road on which it was lo cat ed . Theyrelocated to the Island Highway but in1990 Highways again sa w fit to widenthrough their bu siness and they moved totheir present location in South Wellington.Gordon say s that all his dealings w ithHighways were ex cellent and he waspleased with the treatment he received .

Patienceand Courtesy

I would like to express my appreciationfor your support of North Saanich Councilin its decision to endorse your enginee r'splan for an alternative connec tion fromCurteis Point to Highway No. 17. The roleof o ne of yo ur s ta ff deserves s pec ia lrecognition. Mr. Joe Camillari (who workson the Vancouver Island Highw ay Project)presented his arguments frankl y and fairly,ex h ib ite d th e greatest patience a n dcourtesy in responding to questions whileleaving no doubt as to the extremely tightdeadlines . I found his thoroughly profes­sional attitude a credit to the ministry.

Mau rice Chazottes, MayorDistrict ofNo rtb Saa n ich

Good Work, Highvvays

(From the Sech elt Press)

Last June , I noti ced on my daily walksalong Chapman Cree k, that the south bankhad e rode d six to eight feet , threateningfootings of the bridge on Highway 101. Ico ntac ted Mr. Drummond at Highways inGibsons in October and , after some delays,th e various departments : Fisheries ,Highways and Environment, were co n­vinced to do some th ing about th e situa­tion . I comme nd Mr. Drummond for hisco-operation in this matter and the ministryfor a job well done in putting rip rap alongthe bank.

C iH, Collins. Sechelt resident

Road RII n ncr Summe r 1992 27

In Searchof Native

Plants

Jlt one time, planti ng grasses was all the minis try did to"clean. up" the rights-o f-way after roa d co nstructionwas comp le te d. No t any more . Take th e IslandHighway Project for exa mple.

Long befor e construc tio n began , Roadside Developmen twas loo king at ways to lessen its impact o n the va luab lescenic reso urces along the rout e .

The searc h was on to find the most attractive and easiest tomaintain native grasses , wildflowe rs, shrubs and trees.

Sounds eas y. Just transplant so me of the bu shes and flow­e rs growing wi ld on the p ro pe rty near the roa d , righ t?Wrong.

Roadside Development hired an outside co ns ultant, Jon esand Associat es , Victo ria , to pr e par e a re port o utlining these lec tio n and pl an tin g of att ract ive native p la nt spec ies .Besides soi l and climate cond itions, here are just a few of theproblems the Roadside Developmen t tea m asked the consul­tant to conside r.

Plant ing o f spe ­cies on which deerlik e to browse ,ad jace n t to high ­speed high way tra­ffic, co uld lead toincreased numbersof road kills. If siteshave high deer populations and cannot be protected by ade­quate fencing, many native tree and shrub plantings shou ld beavo ided.

Spec ial co ns idera tion is requ ired if an y of the grass/wild­flower cuttings are to be used as livestock feed by loca l farm­ers. Some of the wildflowers (eg . larkspu rs) contain high lev­els of alkalo ids or other poten tial toxins.

Anot her major pro blem, many wildflowers nat ive to coastalB.C. are not curren tly commercially available and the poten­tia l ex ists for int ro du ced spe c ies to out co mpe te reside ntplants and become a weed.

In the end , a mail survey was developedand se nt to nurseries across North Americato locate which co uld produce and supplynative plants suitable for the project.

What a job! \\?ho 'd believe so much dedi ­cation and know-how wa s behind keepingroad rights-of-way looking "natural."

Co ng ratula tio ns and thanks to th eRoad side Deve lopment team: Al Planiden(Manage r) and his st aff. Jane \'(' at er s andBru ce Nixo n, and th e Regi onal RoadsideDevelopment Technicians . Th ei r wor k onthe Vanco uver Island High wa y Project andother proj ects . will pa yoff for the ministry,the public and the environmen t.

We should say thanks to the University ofBritish Co lumb ia too . Roadsid eDevelopment tcst plots nati ve pl antsthro ug h liaiso n with its "Native PlantIntrodu ction Programs."

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