Salmon Arm city council has received a response from B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation addressing concerns about rutting along the Trans-Canada Highway and confirming that work is already underway.
The city sent a message to the province in November last year, regarding the deep rutting along the highway and the hazard it poses to drivers.
“On behalf of council for the City of Salmon Arm I am writing to express our concern for the dire condition of the Trans-Canada Highway corridor through Salmon Arm,” Harrison said in the letter.
“To better understand the root cause of the asphalt deterioration, the ministry has engaged a pavement engineering contractor who is currently examining and testing the highway through Salmon Arm,” Mike Farnworth, minister of transportation, said in the letter.
The letter said the work includes an evaluation of the resurfacing process completed about 10 years ago, to assess the effectiveness of that procedure.
The contractor is expected to develop a treatment plan to mitigate future rutting in the same area. Farnworth said this stage is expected to be completed by summer 2024.
He added the province cannot plan to repave the corridor without first understanding the extent of the underlying issues contributing to the deterioration.
“I want to assure you the ministry remains committed to resurfacing the entire highway through Salmon Arm in 2027 and to addressing the worst sections where rutting is present in 2026,” the letter said.
