rnc ania igen ta arias

and a log stringer bridge over Maroon Creek, .

Nass road tenders called —
The Ministry of Transportation and '
Highways called Monday for tenders to
replace two bridges and lay 13 kilometres of
pavement on the road between Terrace and
the Nass Valley.

One contract covers replacement of a
temporary Bailey bridge at Wesach Creek

both just south of Rosswood. The second
contract covers paving of the road from
where the current pavement ends north of
Rosswood to Sand Lake, a distance of 13
kilometres,

The Nisga’a Highway, was originally

_ maintained by the Ministry of Forests. Last

year the Ministry of Highways took over
responsibility for the road.

Although the tender call announcement
indicated that this is the first major
improvement project on the road undertaken
by Highways, last summer the stretch from
Rosswood to the Ajyansh turnoff was graded
and resurfaced with a mixture of clay and
gravel at an undisclosed cost, Some regular
travellers on the road have said that project
actually worsened the condition of the road.

The paving tender includes grading, |
gravelling and paving. |

protection pic

The British Columbia Government is taking decisive action to combat the economic
effects caused by the uncertainties of war, bigh fuel prices, bigh interest rates,
and excessive taxation, business failures and job losses.

It will implement a 12-point Taxpayer Protection Plan, designed to keep
British Columbians’ paycheques coming in and keep government affordable:

Is Taxes will be frozen, since increased M™@ securing major components of high-
taxes would adversely affect jobs and tech aerospace industry;
the economy. —_
_ W@ expanding training programs to _
2 Restraint will start at the top with a prepare our workforce for jobs in ”
freeze on salaries and benefits for advanced technology ;
MLAs and senior public officials. .
@ a federal decision on KAON is
3 + Government will establish a expected shortly.
"framework for fair wage settlement in 8 ot, _
the public sector, reflecting taxpayers’ Government's capital construction
ability to pay. projects - schools, highways,
hospitals, etc. - will be scheduled to
4 Government spending will be capped " create employment in times of labour
- for the next three fiscal years, surplus.
increases in the provincial budget will _
be no greater than the average growth 9 ‘Cabinet Ministers will soon announce
rate in the economy. And the public a cooperative effort between
will have a say in determining government and the private sector to
spending priorities. create thousands of
“enviro-jobs”,
§ ABQ. Job Protection Commission will oo, ;
seek solutions to prevent business major job-creating private sector
bankruptcies and job losses especially projects - e.g. Vancouver’s Expo land
in the Interior and the North. development, Marathon project, etc. -
will be expedited.
6 ABC. Reforestation Program worth
$1.4 billion over five years will, Al The recently established Crown
directly and indirectly, create 64,500 Corporation Management Group
person-years of work, particularly in will identify job creation and export
areas dependent on the forest opportunities in cooperation with the
industry. private sector, with special emphasis
on less urbanized areas of
7 Government has targeted a number of the province.
ial industrial development ee
strategies. P 12 The government intends to ensure
that all British Columbians have viable
Vitalizing the ship building and _ retirement income options, and will
. repair industry; P seek the public’s guidance on how
this should be done.
Referendum

a number of important is

At the next general election the public will decide, through a binding referendum, |

sues on such topics as: budgeting, taxation, security for seniors,

and fundamental constitutional issues.

For information write: Government of British Columbia,
Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4

A MESSAGE FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

Terrace Review — Wednesday, February 6, 1991 A3

Nisga’a Highway

The Nisga’a Highway from the
end of pavement just north of
Rosswood to the entrance to New
Aiyansh turned to "soup" last fall.

This was cause for a number of
complaints, including some from a
few regional district directors who
described the once nearly accept-
able road as something now useful
for 4-wheel drive vehicles only.

Nass Valley regional district
director Sam Munroe said in Octo-
ber 1990 the road was more dan-
gerous than it had ever been, and
offered an explanation of why that
was the case. The road had ap-
parently been surfaced with a
mixture of gravel and clay that
turned to mud when it rained. The
worst section, he said at the time,

was from Lava Lake to Kalum

Lake.

"You need a four-wheel drive to
use it," said Munroe. "They’re
trying to grade it but they’re just
moving the mud back and forth."

Munroe wasn’t alone; directors
Bob Cooper and Les Watmough
agreed. According to Cooper, "As
soon as it started to rain the
material went to soup... It was
good when it was dry." And Wat-
mough: "It’s a real mess." Wat-
mough remarked that the gravel
was being tested for quality by the
Ministry of Highways as it was
being hauled from one of four
gravel pits, but added, "What hap-

‘improvement needed

pened to the testing program, I
have no idea."

Watmough did offer hope, how-
ever: "In three to four years all the
clay will wash off." Board chair-
man Jack Talstra asked why some
good quality gravel couldn’t be
added to the surface, but Wat-
mough pointed out that the gravel
would eventually mix with the clay
and disappear. Then how about
paving it? No way, said Munroe.
The clay mixture would have to be
removed and replaced first.

This month after warm winds
and plenty of rain, little has
changed on the road. One indepen-
dent logging contractor, Art Weis-
miller, told us the road was a
"terrible mess" for six to cight
weeks last fall and it will be again
"when the frost goes".

But other than being a "terrible
mess", this apparent upgrade disas-
ter means for truckers a two-hour
trip instead of 45 minutes, says
Weismiller, and 70 percent higher
fuel costs. And then there’s mud
related maintenance costs, like
unusual wear on brake linings and
any "joint" the mud can get into.
For the casual driver who has to
use the road (without a 4-wheel
drive vehicle or an ATV), though,
spring thaw doesn’t mean higher
travel costs... it simply means

_ Staying home,

Overpass won't be
built tomorrow

The Highway 16 corridor study
is nearing completion. It may or
‘May not include a recommendation
for a second overpass for Terrace,
but if it does, construction prob-
ably won't begin for at least three
to five years.

Ministry of Highways spokesman
David Fisher says Hamilton and
Associates, a Vancouver consulting
firm, has completed a draft report
on their study of the highway
cortidor through Terrace that has
been reviewed by both the ministry
and the city. His says Hamilton's
final report is expected later this
month. After further teview a
public information meeting will be
held to discuss the final recom-
mendations.

These final recommendations are
not likely to include anything
major. Fisher suggests immediate
solutions to congestion and the
difficulty in accessing the highway
at certain points might be accom-
plished by changing the timing of
the traffic light at the north end of
Sande Overpass and the addition
of at least one traffic light further
east on Keith Ave. Other short-
term changes would involve city-
owned streets.

Long-term solutions, one of
which might be a second overpass,
would be. placed on a list of priori-
ties. If no immediate changes are
deemed necessary, this priority list
would be reviewed within three to
five years. At that point, some of
the ideas might be revised, moved

ahead, or scrapped for something
new. _
The study of the Highway 16
corridor through Terrace began
early last spring. In May it was
suggested that a second overpass
would reduce traffic flows and
remuve the hazard of industrial
traffic from a portion of the down-
town core. At the same time, how-
ever, regional highways manager
John Newhouse said the study
would be looking at much more
than just a second overpass. Possi-
bilities included the widening of
the existing highway or 4 new
highway corridor to replace the
present route through the city.

New manager
at North Coast

North Coast Road Maintenance
has a new manager. Kentron Con-
struction Ltd. manager Lloyd Scott
is presently at the helm;
apparently, however, only in an
interim capacity. Scott was the
owner-manager of Kentron, North
Coast’s parent company, prior to
its sale last year to Sintra Con- ~
struction of Montreal.

Former North Coast Road Main-
tenance manager Mike Zylicz says
the change was a “complete sur-
prise” but adds that he and North
Coast management parted as
"friends". Zylicz suggests the
change was nothing more than a
business decision.