250News file photo of Highway 16 east mudslide near Mount Robson this past June

Prince George, BC – While holiday travel on area highways is starting to ease, construction crews remain hard at work on this year’s improvement projects in the Prince George area.

Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure spokesperson, Kate Trotter, says area projects total approximately $40-million dollars and include everything from safety improvements on local side roads to major four-laning projects such as the Cariboo-to-Sintich stretch on Highway 97 south that is part of the Cariboo Connector program.

As of the start of this month, Trotter says nearly 50-percent of the program for the region is nearing completion, with the remainder underway.

Completed projects include:

• re-paving the intersection of Highways 16 and 97 in Prince George
• re-surfacing Highway 97 from North Kelly Road to the Salmon River bridge
• paving and seal-coating of local side roads in the Prince George area

Other projects nearing completion:

• re-surfacing of Highway 97 from Bowron to Driscoll Road, east of Prince George
• construction of the Tabor Mountain passing lane extension, east of Prince George
• upgrading of Highway 16 and Purden Mountain Road intersection, east of Prince George

North of Prince George, Trotter says work continues to repair damage through the Pine Pass that occurred during the major rain event in the summer of 2011.  She says the last major repair will be the installation of a large multi-plate culvert approximately 30-kilometres south of Chetwynd.  The project is out to tender, with a contract expected to be awarded soon and the work to be complete by the end of November.

This year’s record snowpack and heavy rains in June and early July caused several mudslides and wash-outs along Highway 16 east; however, Trotter says the major projects planned for this summer were able to be carried out as scheduled.