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This winter
BC highway maintenance contractors are out on the road working to maintain
public safety on our highways by keeping highway conditions to the provincial
standards
Environment Canada weather forecast are routinely monitored
and so are the Ministry of Transportation's 130 Road Weather Information System
stations
providing real-time forecasts to help inform winter maintenance activities.
Maintenance contractors provide winter maintenance on a 24/7 basis
and when the snowfall begins, so does snow removal from the highway.
Highways are classified and prioritized for winter maintenance based on
important routes,
traffic volumes and types traffic.
Snow removal includes not only the travel lanes, but the shoulders as well.
Commercial and school bus routes also receive snow removal in conjunction with the highways.
Rural roads receive snow removal once operations on the main routes are near
completion
or as required by the provincial standards during snowfall events.
To help in the removal of compact snow,
de-icing chemicals such as road salt are used, when weather conditions permit.
Proactively, to maintain or restore traction on our highways,
maintenance contractors apply winter abrasives (or winter sand) throughout the winter months.
While driving the highways
please remember to follow winter maintenance vehicles at a safe distance.
Avoid passing on the right-hand side, and only pass on the left hand side when safe.
Now you know a little bit more about the work our maintenance
contractors do to keep our highways safe.
Special thanks to the operators of Mainroad East Kootenay Contracting for
their efforts in helping with this video.
Please drive safely and check DriveBC to know before you go.