A company from Victoria has been awarded the contract to seal cracks and sealcoat 49km of Hwy118 from Topley to Granisle.
Arrowsmith Road Maintenance Ltd. will do this work as well as similar work on the Mapes Road near Vanderhoof with a target completion date of this fall for both projects.
Sealcoating is a type of resurfacing meant extend the lifespan of a road by sealing out moisture with compacted gravel and an asphalt-water mixture.
When first announced earlier this year, Granisle mayor Linda McGuire welcomed the news of the impending project.
She said increased logging traffic of the past several years has caused noticeable wear and tear on Hwy118.
Meanwhile, Burns Lake residents can be expect patching of some of the worst sections of Hwy16 as it passes through the community this year.
“Funding for the patching work comes out of the ministry’s yearly rehabilitation program, and will be completed by Lakes District Maintenance and local contractors,” indicated a statement from the provincial transportation and infrastructure ministry.
“Patching along Highway 16 through Burns Lake will be focused on areas of the greatest need, with the intersection at Highway 16/Centre Street receiving the most work.”
And there could very well be a more comprehensive road program in the near future with the ministry indicating “more long term options to improve the pavement on this section are being evaluated.”
Elsewhere in the region, a company from Prince George has been awarded a $6 million contract to resurface much of the length of Hwy37 South between Kitimat and Terrace.
Pittman Asphalt is due to start soon with a target completion date of this fall.
The contract calls for 35km of resurfacing with a concentration from Kitimat north to the Onion Lake flats section and selected sections running north of the Onion Lake flats toward the Northwest Regional Airport.
There are also improvements coming to the section of highway extending down to the Kitimat River Bridge.
Repaving of Hwy37 South has been a long-standing goal of the District of Kitimat and others because, after years of industrial use, the surface has rutted in sections, creating bumpy driving conditions.
The state of the road even drew the attention of senior officials of BC Emergency Health Services, the provincial body responsible for the BC Ambulance Service, when they toured the area last fall.
As well, Adventure Paving of Prince Rupert has the $1.8 million contract to rehabilitate approximately 8km of the Tow Hill road east of Masset on Haida Gwaii.
And 53km of Hwy37 North will be sealcoated in two segments, from Good Hope Lake to Boya Lake, and from Wheeler Lake to the Yukon border. This project will include resurfacing within Lower Post. White Bear Industries Ltd. of Terrace has been awarded the $3.2-million contract for this project.
There’s to be more work on Hwy37 North with approximately 44km being sealcoated from Cranberry #1 Bridge to Brown Bear Creek. Arrowsmith Road Maintenance Ltd. of Victoria has been awarded the $1.4-million contract for this project.