Highway 16 Open to One Lane

Thursday, April 12, 2007 11:49 AM

Highway 16 has been reopened to single lane alternating traffic about 117 kilometers east of Prince George.

Part of the road near the Slim Creek campground, slid into the Slim Creek ravine early this morning.

No one hurt as a result of the slide, however, two transport drivers said they had come across that spot just moments before it slid .

The Ministry of Transportation’s Area Manager, Chris Thornhill, says the road will remain open to single lane alternating traffic as long as there are no further signs of erosion. Workers remain on the scene, monitoring the situation.

The slide took place about 400 metres from the site where the road had slipped 15 years ago which also knocked the highway out of commission.

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Posted on Thursday, April 12, 2007 11:49 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: Chester on April 12 2007 8:37 PM

One would think that a problem area would be monitored on a regular basis if there have been problems in the past. Let's keep an eye out ourselves and report anything that may put our safety in jeopardy. Chester

Posted by: owl on April 12 2007 10:45 PM

I find it interesting the way many people who deal with road safety think when they say that it is not road conditions or weather conditions which kill, it is drivers who do not drive to the conditions that kill.

So I suspect that when driving at night on the road between here and McBride one really ought to survey the entire route with a helicopter the day before so one can determine which parts might be in danger of landslides, mark them on the GPS and then get back to Prince, drop the GPS into the vehicle and take off.

Of course one could also drive at 20km/h and risk having a fully loaded transport truck coming up your rear end at 100km/h.

Whatever happened to the notion that one designs something for the purpose for which it is intended �.. 100 km/h speed, at night, while raining, during a spring thaw? If the road is not capable of that kind of traffic, then sign it appropriately for the other conditions which the drive should follow
1. rain? � reduce speed 10km/h
2. spring � reduce speed 20km/h
3. dark � reduce speed 20km/h
4. heavy vehicle � reduce speed 10km/h

So, a trucker drives 40km/h under those conditions on a road designed for 100km/h �.

The conditions of use are set by the designer of the system, not left up to the user to guess for themselves. Why should roads be any different?

Posted by: owl on April 12 2007 10:56 PM

"The slide took place about 400 metres from the site where the road had slipped 15 years ago which also knocked the highway out of commission."

Where is slim creek? under the road?

There is a place in Toronto on Tattle creek road. Some 35 years ago a 20+ floor apartment building which was a long, narrow design, started to subside in the middle.

The geotechnical reports had shown good soil conditions on which the foundation was designed.

When the building subsided in the middle, they rediscovered Taddle Creek, something which the geotechs did not since they only drilled tests on the four corners of the building.