When it comes to protecting travelling motorists, the ministry’savalanche specialists usually contend with the fluffy white ver-

sion of H20. However, on December 21, avalanche technician ChrisLink and avalanche aid Kirk Illingworth heroically rescued a family offour from the water.

“Chris and I were on Highway 3, heading up to Allison Pass,”recallsIllingworth. “We both spotted these tracks indicating a car had slid offthe road. We decided to take a look and saw a car on its side in theSumallo River. While Chris called for an ambulance and the RCMP, Isaw a lady’s head pop out of the driver’s side window.”

The woman yelled to Illingworth and Link that her husband and twoyoung boys were also inside the car.

“The family could get out of the car,” says Illingworth. “But they could-n’t make over to land in safety. The water was a metre deep and fastflowing. So Chris got a ladder we had from the back of the truck.Chris and I extended it out to the car and held it for the family to crawlover. The kids came over first, followed by their parents. We put themin the truck to warm them up and then the RCMP arrived.”

The two heroes handed the family over to the authorities and mod-estly went on their way.

“I honestly don’t remember the name of the family,” says Illingworth.“They just needed to be helped.”

Regional director Keith Bespflug praised the actions of the avalanchespecialists, saying, “Their quick action helped prevent a very serioussituation and demonstrated true service to the public.”

1

Volume 35, Issue 9 Winter 2000/01

Sharlie Huffman isnot the first person

to go back to school inthe middle of hercareer. What is uniqueabout Sharlie’s situa-tion is that furtheringher education will alsobenefit our ministry.

Recently, the ministry’s bridge engineeringsection found itself without a bridge seismicrehabilitation standards engineer when

Avalanche techs to the rescue

Pair rescue family in distressby Paul Kim, communications officer

Chris Link and Kirk Illingworth

Continued on Page 2

Sharlie Huffman

Bridges and books: building our future by Glen Plummer, A/media relations coordinator

Brock Radloff went to work in the privatesector. Suddenly, someone was needed tofill this important position. Chief bridgeengineer Peter Brett took the matter toassistant deputy minister Dan Doyle.

"Dan told us that we had to look within theministry to fill the position," said Brett."Unfortunately, no one within the ministryfulfilled all of the qualifications."

Given this situation, Peter and Dan dis-cussed the problem and decided on acourse of action.

"We agreed to post the position and selectthe most qualified candidate," said Brett. "Itwas decided that this candidate would thenbe given the opportunity to complete therequired upgrading and the ministry wouldcover the expense."

This is not something new within the min-istry. Barry Wilton, director of HumanResources, says that there have been anumber of occasions when the ministry hastaken this route to fill a position.

In the right light, it’s not pollution by Glen Plummer, A/media relations coordinator

Road Runner Winter 2000/01

2

Water pollution. Noise pollution. Airpollution. Light Pollution?…

"Light pollution is unwanted, unshieldedlight that causes more problems than itsolves," says Royal Astronomical Societymember Bill Almond.

Believe it or not , light pollution is a seri-ous problem around the world.However, steps are being taken to dealwith light pollution and MoTH is doing itspart .

Electrical co-ordinator Brian Day accept-ed the Greater Victoria Light PollutionAbatement Award on November 18, onbehalf of the ministry. The award, pre-sented by the Victoria office of the RoyalAstronomical Society of Canada, is forthe ministry’s work in reducing light pol-lution. Work on the Trans-CanadaHighway’s Victoria approaches andMillstream interchange attracted theattention of the astronomical society.

"We are very pleased with the new light-ing on the Trans-Canada at the Victoriaand Millstream locations," said Almond."We hope to see more of this kind oflighting."

The new lighting uses flat glass lumi-naires. Unlike previous drop glass stylelights, the flat glass lights use a flat hous-

ing rather than the older bubble style.The result is that light from flat glassluminaires is focused more directly ontothe road surface, reducing glare andmaking the roads safer for drivers. Theflat glass luminaires are also easier tomaintain than the older style. The min-istry has adopted flat glass lights as itsstandard for new lights and, as old lightswear out , they too will be replaced withthe flat glass style where design permits.This type of luminaire can be seen else-where on the Vancouver Island HighwayProject as well as the IronworkersMemorial Second Narrows Bridge, theTrans-Canada Highway HOV Project andon Highway 91 in Richmond.

The use of new lighting technology willlikely become more widespread, withmunicipalities such as the District ofSaanich having adopted outdoor lightingstandards to meet growing sensitivityconcerning the control of light pollution.

Light pollution may not seem like a bigdeal when compared to other forms ofpollution but the problems that it causescan be costly.

"Light pollution means that astronomicalobservatories have to be built as faraway from light sources as possible,"says Almond. "This can mean having tobuild observatories on expensive plat-forms on the Pacific Ocean."

The amount of pollution caused by inef-ficient forms of lighting can be seen fromspace. Photos show bright , glowingskies over large city centres. If you wantmore information on light pollution,check out the Royal AstronomicalSociety of Canada web site:http://www.rasc.ca/

The Road Runner is produced entirely in-houseby the communications branch of the Ministryof Transportation and Highways and may not bereprinted or republished without permission.

Sam Brand, Garth Coward, Dan Mayberry, Glen Plummer, Kathie Miller and Barry Wilton sit on the editorial committee.

Story ideas, submissions and letters are alwayswelcome and may be submitted to your regionalcommunications coordinator or by e-mail to:

Glen.Plummer@gems6.gov.bc.ca

or sent c/o Road Runner, 5-B 940 Blanshard St.,Victoria, B.C. V8W 9T5

The next deadline for submissions to the RoadRunner is April 7.

Bridges and Books (Cont’d from Page 1)

"We must use the resources that we’ve got,"said Wilton. "We want to grow from within.The advantages to this type of employeedevelopment are many. It capitalizes onresources that we already have and demon-strates a solid commitment to people with-in the ministry."

The successful applicant for the position,Sharlie Huffman, is taking on a big challengeat a time in her life when others probablywouldn’t consider it. Sharlie has approxi-mately 20 years experience with the min-istry in bridges. Now, she is commutingback and forth between her job here in

Light from flat glass luminaires is focused moredirectly onto the road surface, reducing glare andmaking the roads safer for drivers

Victoria and taking courses at UBC.

Over the years, the ministry has gonethrough many changes and, Dan Doyle saysthat change is part of what the ministry isabout.

"In our ministry, we have to look at the bestway of doing our jobs," said Doyle. "Thismeans using the experience and talents ofthe people we have. Training our people toimprove their performance and growingfrom within are ways to meet the challengesof the future. We have to anticipate changeand meet challenges head-on."

Road Runner Winter 2000/01

3

The last of the Marine EngineerApprentices

If the provincial government ever devel-ops a trivia game, Doug Whalley is a

sure bet to be included in the MoTH cat-egory. Doug has the distinction of beingthe last marine engineer apprentice inthe MoTH Marine Branch.

After completing the four-year apprentice-ship program, Doug is now a marine engi-neer and plans to continue working forthe Marine Branch in his new role.

The former marine apprenticeship pro-gram has been replaced by a NationalCadet Program, making Doug the last ofhis kind.

During his apprenticeship, Doug servedon the Francois Lake and Kootenay Lakeferries. Doug Whalley (left) and Derek Sinclair,

senior marine engineer

The East Kootenay District was veryfortunate to have acquired the tal-

ents of two young engineering gradu-ates: Lauren Baldwin and Neil Wood.Hired last spring, Neil and Lauren areworking as engineering assistants.

Being new to the ministry has been anexciting experience and has exposedthem to a wide range of projects, assign-ments and interesting people.

Lauren was hired as an engineeringintern following the completion of herdegree in water resources engineering atthe University of Guelph, Ontario. An out-door enthusiast , she has really enjoyedliving in Cranbrook and working forMoTH.

Neil was hired as a youth employmentprogram student in the summer of 1999.He returned as an engineering assistantafter completing his diploma in civil engi-neering design technology at theSouthern Alberta Institute of Technology.

Lauren and Neil’s Exciting Adventures in MoTHby Dave Duncan, district engineer

Engineering graduates Neil Wood and Laren Baldwin

Living in his hometown of Cranbrook, Neilenjoys the endless outdoor activities ofthe East Kootenays.

Working on a variety of assignments, Neiland Lauren have developed a goodappreciation for district highways opera-tions. Their work has included culvertinstallations, development approvals,writing reports, engineering design, map-ping, research, surveying and construc-tion supervision. These projects have pro-vided them with valuable experience andwill undoubtably provide them with somereally valuable skills for their future pro-fessional careers.

Lauren and Neil would like to say a bigthanks! to the district and regional stafffor making their ministry experience excit-ing and extremely enjoyable… but they’rewondering… where have all those surveypins gone?

Good work, Lauren and Neil!

The Worker’s CompensationAmendment Act of October 1,1999 has increased theemphasis on the specificresponsibilities of ministryexecutives, managers andemployees for the health andsafety of all workers.

To this end, the Ministry ofTransportation and HighwaysHealth and Safety section isupdating existing and creatingnew policy and proceduremanuals in terms of corerequirements, general fieldoperations and specific fieldoperations or work areas.

Safety update

4

Road Runner Winter 2000/01

On the Road to Success:

MoTH Special Events Coordinators HelpFuel the Growth of Hollywood North

British Columbia’s film and televisionproduction industry has become a

billion-dollar industry employing 35,000British Columbians. The growth of theindustry can be directly measured by theamount of work being undertaken byMoTH’s special events coordinators forthe Lower Mainland – Howe SoundDistrict . In 1993, Howe Sound Districtprocessed only six permits for filming. In1999, the number of filming permitsissued totalled 85.

The role of the ministry’s special eventscoordinators is to work with various pro-duction companies to satisfy filmingneeds while minimizing traffic disruptionand safeguarding the ministry’s interests.According to Wayne Keiser, district high-ways manager, the growth of the filmindustry has translated into a new posi-tion for the ministry. "The growth of theposition has been driven by industryneed. Film and events permits used to bejust one of a number of issues dealt withby district staff. As the volume of permitrequests increased it became clear that itwas something that could no longer bedone off the side of someone’s desk,"says Keiser.

"It’s a lot of responsibility," said LornaLeslie, special events coordinator. "Wemust ensure the regular users of the high-way are accommodated safely, as well asparticipants in the event. Of course, wecan’t authorize these events during peaktraffic periods, such as statutory holidayweekends, or the a.m./p.m. rush hourperiods."

Mirroring the industry they support , thebusiest times for special events coordina-tors are in the spring and summermonths. Film scheduling is complicatedby requests to hold other special eventson highways such as fun runs, bicycleraces and community events.

"It’s a delicate balancing act meeting theministry’s mission of moving the public

safely and efficiently,support for communityevents and the needs ofthe film industry,"acknowledged HollyAdems, operations coor-dinator. "Sometimes weneed to say ‘No’ to therequests if the proposal is unsafe, tooinconvenient to the public or just imprac-tical. For example, I have had a request toclose the Lions Gate Bridge entirely for aset created with a table and a candlelightdinner for two actors. We had to deny thisone."

When a film permit is approved the filmcoordinator then works with other min-istry representatives and stakeholders toensure that filming can take place with aminimum of fuss. "Almost every film per-mit involves extensive communicationwith the local area manager, traffic techni-cian, RCMP, maintenance contractor andthe Provincial Highways ConditionsCentre. Communication is the key toensure the public is informed, and safetyis assured for everyone," says Adems.

Safety is always uppermost in the mindsof the film coordinators as many scenes

shot on ministryroads involve dan-gerous stunts andspecial effects.Lorna Leslie recallsbeing on a film sitewhere the stuntinvolved a semi-trailer flipping inthe air, saying, "Itbarely missed ouroverhead streetlight ." Holly Ademsonce arranged theclosure of theI r o n w o r k e r sMemorial SecondNarrows Crossingfor five minutes tofilm the explosionof the old CoachHouse Inn. "Thetraffic control logis-tics for this shootwere complex andrequired extensiveplanning and coor-

dination to ensure a safe explosion," shesaid.

"The work of film coordinators such asAdems and Leslie are part of the reasonB.C.’s film industry has grown so much,"said Gordon Hardwick, community rela-tions manager for the B.C. FilmCommission. "To attract filming we com-pete on a global scale and rely on our abil-ity to provide solutions to the film indus-try with access to crews and locations.Transportation and Highways has done alot to promote the film industry here bycreating the role of the film coordinator. Ihave often heard back from productions,saying that , when presented with anissue, the Highways’ film coordinatorswere able to provide solutions to get film-ing done. As a result of efforts like this,we don’t see any drop-off in the level offilm production in B.C."

Operationscoordinator

Holly Ademsposes with

actor RobertIto ("Sam" on

Quincy) onthe set of The

Immortal.

Special events coordinatorLorna Leslie with actress

Heather Medway ("DetectiveCameron Westlake") on the set

of Viper.

by Paul Kim, communications officer

Road Runner Winter 2000/01

5

South Coast Region Movers and Shakers

Retirement of a TrueCharacter

South Coast Region held a retirement luncheon for SylviaFoyle, secretary, highway engineering on October 12, 2000.

Sylvia served withthe ministry for 10years. She came tohighways after serv-ing with theVancouver Police asa civilian employee,Woodwards andM o n t g o m e r yElevator. At high-ways she quicklyestablished a repu-tation as a charac-ter of quirky wit andn o - n o n s e n s eaction.

At her luncheon,Sylvia thanked thenumerous peoplewho attended fromacross South CoastRegion. "For the

love, generosity and consideration you have shown me, I thankyou all so much."

TrafficManagementSpecialistRetires

Stu Maynes, senior traffic proj-ects engineer, retired in January

2001 after 14 years with the min-istry. Stu came to the ministryafter serving with the City ofVancouver and City of Surrey.

Looking back on his years with the ministry, Stu reflected, "Thegreat thing about this job was that it was a hands-on, action ori-ented position. It allowed me to get from behind my desk ontothe roads and I learned the highway system in South CoastRegion like the back of my hand."

At highways, Stu worked on traffic management projects suchas timing over 100 signal lights. "I guess the one thing I will takeaway from me into retirement is a respect for our field staff whoare both solid managers and engineers," said Stu.

Other Retirements Shirley Watson, Receptionist , Geotechnical Branch

Kathleen Johnson, Financial Clerk

Competitions WonDanny Locke, Warehouseman, Delta Electrical District

Keith Kazakoff, Project Supervisor, Bridge Operations

Left the MinistryBrenda Jones, Regional Communications Coordinator

Barry Sullivan, Project Management Technician

James Fam, Engineer in Training

Mark Walters, Provincial Highways Condition CentreSupervisor

Region 1 Staff Changes – toDecember 12, 2000

CO receives Peacekeeping Medal

Paul Kim, communications officer, Region 1, received theCanadian Peacekeeping Service Medal on November 25 for

service in the former Yugoslavian republic of Croatia in 1993.Kim was previously awarded the United Nations FormerYugoslavia Peacekeeping Service Medal.

Stu Maynes, Senior TrafficProjects Engineer.

Sylvia Foyle in a vintage ministry work coat thatwas presented to her by the employees of SouthCoast Region for her retirement.

The Smallest Bridge Expansion

The Port Mann Improvement Project will benefit the thou-sands of people who commute through or live in the Cape

Horn interchange area. The most visible part of the project isthe expansion of the bridge to accommodate a fifth lane foreastbound HOV traffic. Yet the bridge expansion won’t justbenefit commuters. A pair of Peregrine falcons have taken upresidence on the bridge for the last several years. Their nest islocated at the top of the bridge arch. However, the falcons havenot been able to successfully raise their young on the bridge.

Greg Czernick, environmental coordinator, explains, “Nestingsuccess on bridges is generally low.” To help improve the odds,the widening of the Port Mann Bridge will include the expansionof a nesting platform so the young falcons can strengthen theirwings before they take their first flight . “It appears that thechicks are falling off the bridge before they can fly,” saysCzernick.

If the addition of the platform for the falcons is a success it willbenefit the environment and the bridge itself. Czernick says,“Falcons eat pigeons, and pigeons make a mess of the bridge, sowe have a vested interest in supporting the falcons.”

Road Runner Winter 2000/01

6

Laying It On The Line

Pavement Marking Operations Celebrates Banner Year

Pavement marking operations endedits season in November with a cele-

bratory presentation of awards by SouthCoast Regional Director Keith Bespflug.

"It was a fantastic year for the crews," saysBespflug. "The crews marked over 30,000kilometres in just seven months."

Pavement Marking Manager Mark Prattadds, "This is the highest volume of linesmarked by seven crews. The previoushigh for seven crews was 27,000 kilome-tres. It represents a 10% increase in pro-ductivity compared to the average of thelast two years."

Pratt attributed the increased perform-ance to the flexibility and good sense ofhis shift supervisors. "The shift supervi-sors were allowed to direct their crews asthey saw fit to meet local conditions. Thecrews responded well to this direction."

Pavement marking crews this year aver-aged 60 hours of work over six days,marking as much as 50 to 60 kms in a day."They pack a year’s worth of work intoseven months," Pratt says. "Now that theseason is over, most of the crews are tak-ing a well deserved rest while a skeletoncrew performs maintenance on thetrucks."

(Top) South Coast Region Director Keith Bespflug (second from left) presents the trophy for the GreatestIncrease in Kilometres Marked from the Previous Year to (left to right) Dan Diebert, Mike Pighim, Rob Kempand Rich Abbott

(Above left) Machine operator Rob Kemp, prepares a road for painting in the East Kootenays (Region 3).

(Above right) Pavement marking crew members Brian Steadman, Rob Kemp, and Jack Vandenburg prepareHighway 97 in Vernon for painting.

The Kelowna & District Safety Council, sponsors of The LittleTravellers Safety Village, extend our most sincere thanks to EdSanders, his crew and Scott Lain of Argo Road Maintenance forreplacing all of our outdated road signs, some of which weremore than 20 years old and many hand-painted.

Our instructors are particularly pleased with the bright newstreet signs that have now replaced the homemade woodenones.

Your contribution will go a long way to helping point the way tosafety for almost 4,000 children each year in the Okanagan.

Lian Couper, Public RelationsKelowna & District Safety Councilhttp://www.kdsc.bc.ca

Thank you from Kelowna & District Safety Council

Bright new signs replace old in The Little Travellers Safety Village

by Paul Kim, communications coordinator

Road Runner Winter 2000/01

7

Judy Hillaby, restoration biologist, DFO & DarylNolan, A/regional environmental coordinator, MoTH

There’s Something Fishy Here

This past year saw the Central/NorthEast Region partnering with Fisheries

and Oceans Canada (DFO) on a fishhabitat restoration project in the Hixonarea. The origins of the partnership dateback to 1996 when, under the emergencyprovisions of the Highways Act , onebank of Naver Creek was armored withrock to stop a meander of the creek fromeroding away a portion of Highway 97during the spring freshet .

While the riprap effectively protected thehighway fill, fish habitat was lost as thetreatment removed riparian vegetationand modified stream hydrology. As the

Continued on Page 10

Fisheries Act mandates DFO to ensurethat a proponent’s work results in no-netloss of fish habitat , the ministry wasasked to contribute to the creation ofcompensatory habitat .

The North Cariboo Highways Districtcommitted up to $8,000 of funding toDFO in 2000, while the regional environ-mental coordinator assisted DFO with re-vegetation aspects of the work. DFO’shabitat and enhancement branch provided the expertise to identify, survey,design, layout , and supervise the restoration project: a 450-metre long

By Derek Nolan, regional environmental coordinator

Innovation Leads to Rehabilitation

Adeteriorating timber bridge near ChurnCreek has been rehabilitated thanks to

some innovative thinking from ministrystaff.

The 1912 suspension bridge, located about80 kilometres west of 100 Mile House, wasone of three virtually identical bridges builtacross the Fraser River in the early years ofthe last century. Although the other twobridges, near Williams Lake and Lillooet,were replaced several decades ago, theChurn Creek Bridge remained in deteriorat-ing condition.

About 15 years ago, a proposal was consid-ered to replace the bridge, but the planswere shelved due to the unacceptably highprice tag for such a relatively lightly-usedroute in remote ranching country.

The question of what to do about the bridgewas put on the table again about two yearsago when local DHM Tracy Cooper, ADMDan Doyle and other staff from headquar-ters, region and district visited the site toconsider whether there were alternatives toreplacing the structure. The bridge nowserved as an access point for the province’snew 36,000-hectare Churn Creek ProtectedArea, which incorporates the former EmpireValley Ranch. In addition, local First Nations

rely on the structure togain access to their tra-ditional territories asdo visitors to the his-toric Gang Ranch.

After assessing thebridge, the groupagreed that it was a good candidate forrehabilitation and bridge evaluation engineer Ian Sturrock was made projectmanager.

Over eight months, workers replaced agingtimber trusses under the bridge deck withnew steel components, installed a new steel

bridge deck, and built new approach spans.Virtually every remaining element of thebridge made of timber was replaced withcomponents made of steel.

The existingsteel towers andoriginal founda-tions were alsoreinforced andbrought up tocurrent stan-dards.

The success ofthe project washeightened bythe participationof the CanoeCreek Band whoprovided essen-tial right-of-wayfor the bridgeapproaches, par-

ticipated to some extent in the constructionand consulted over access and archeological issues.

When the project was completed, the shiny"new" span still bore its classic suspension-bridge profile -- but was now safer, strongerand ready for a brand new century!

ChurnCreekBridge,before andafter.

by Bruce Methven, media relations coordinator

Road Runner Winter 2000/01

8

The staff of the Nicola District has been very stable over thepast couple of years. That does not mean that everyone is

leading very dull and boring lives. In fact ,the following should definitely dispel thatmyth.

DOUG KIRK has become the grandfatherof his older son’s son. In addition, #2 sonjoined the military and Doug and wifeMillie flew to Montreal for his graduationin December (Montreal in December in araging snowstorm - what a warped senseof masochistic pleasure).

JURGEN LUTTER has just finished work-ing on a replacement of the main cableson our own "Queen of Lytton" (the LyttonFerry), which took longer than anticipatedbut is now complete and should keep theferry running for several more years.Jurgen has had fun in the Thompson Riverrecently with the work on the bridge atSpences Bridge.

DAVE FROESE is still "enjoying" his unofficial posi-tion as captain of the Queen of Lytton and the manyperks that go along with that (like free rides acrossthe river with or without vehicle at any time hechooses). Dave escapes to Merritt often on week-ends where his plane is tethered and he relaxes inthe wild blue yonder from time to time. Dave is intohiking, sometimes with the local club, and Dave likeshis cross-country skiing as well.

DAN LONG has worked long hours all summer sohas been basically on ETO time since late Octoberuntil into the new year. Highland Valley was his bigproject this year, but he came in off ETO to get theMonck Park Road job started. After we had toreplace practically every camera in theoffice last year, including Dan’s when it wasstolen, he has been particularly enjoyinghis new disposable camera that is no greatcost if it gets lost or stolen!

GERRY SANFORD really DOES knowwhere everything is in his office, despiterumours to the contrary! As district opera-tions assistant , Gerry accumulates reamsof information that takes a lot of managingand archiving. He and wife Jill had a trip toVictoria a while back, on business yet ,which both enjoyed. Between Jill’s andGerry’s work, they get to have "get aways"every now and again.

Regional director JonBuckle presents EarlNygaard, area manag-er, Nicola District, witha Suggestion Awardcheque of $200 andcertificate for hisWinter StormMaintenance chart that he, Jon Jensenand Rob Struthersdeveloped.

Jon Jensen, districttechnician, peers overthe chaos on his deskwhile his office hasbeen stripped of every-thing else during thelate summer re-carpet-ing and painting at theNicola District office.

(Right) Where there’s awill, there’s a way!Jurgen Lutter, bridgearea manager, reads hise-mail at a computerthat was still connectedduring the re-carpetingand painting.

Nicola District Dispels "Dull and Boring" Mythby John Philp, district office manager

Road Runner Winter 2000/01

9

Last July, construction began on thethird and final phase of upgrading the

avalanche control systems on KootenayPass on Highway 3. The project consist-ed of installing another seven GAZ.EXexploders, two communication/gas stor-age shelters and over 1,500 metres ofdouble pipeline connecting theexploders to the shelters.

GAZ.EX is an avalanche control systembuilt in France. The system consists ofexploder devices that are large pipeslocated in the starting zones of a givenavalanche path(s). To create an explosion,the exploders are fed a mixture of oxygenand propane through a connectingpipeline from a gas storage shelter.Explosions are triggered with a laptopcomputer using an assigned radio fre-quency that sends the signal to theexploder. The resulting explosion in theexploder creates a pressure wave 100metres in all directions that is the equiva-lent of hanging 50 kilograms of explosivesin the air. The pressure wave crushes theinstability within the snowpack and anavalanche starts.

With the completion of this phase (phase1 – Sept 93; phase 2 – Sept 97) of theGAZ.EX project , the total exploder arrayon Kootenay Pass is now 19, serviced byfive shelters on three different mountains.Cost of this last phase was $1.6 million(purchase of equipment and construc-tion).

The efficiency of the GAZ.EX system isevident when you consider that it took atleast one hour to do avalanche control onthe eastside avalanche area (North Fork)with the 105mm recoilless rifle and now ittakes less than 20 minutes to shoot 10exploders accomplishing the same work.Highway closure times have been short-ened with this type of equipment. InEurope, Japan, Chile, USA and Canada,GAZ.EX is a popular alternative to con-ventional avalanche control with explo-sives. With the latest technology in thisfinal phase, the MoTH snow avalanche

High Tech + Explosions = A Safer Kootenay Passby John Tweedy, avalanche technician

A helicopter lowers part of a Gaz.Ex system intoplace.

Northern RegionUp and Running

The name has changed and the teamhas gotten larger, but the majority of

the players remain the same in the newNorthern Region of the ministry, whichofficially came into being with the onsetof the new year. The former Northwestand Central/North East regions havemerged and a fresh page in highways his-tory has been started.

Friends and colleagues offer their bestwishes to former regional director DirkNyland who, by now, should be happilyensconced at headquarters in his newrole as chief engineer. Meanwhile, KathieMiller has taken the reins of the expandedNorthern Region.

While radical changes in our way of doingbusiness are not anticipated, we all realizethere’s more to integration than simplyredrawing some lines and changing ourname. New working relationships are nowbeing formulated and everyone is work-ing in earnest to wrap up the separateregional obligations undertaken at thebeginning of the year.

With the onset of a new fiscal in April, it isthen that we can expect to see further evi-dence of our coming together. In keepingwith tradition, we will continue to extendour renowned northern hospitality andan exceptional level of service to our customers.

program at Kootenay Pass is one of themost hi-tech avalanche hazard manage-ment programs in North America.

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Gray area denotes new Northern Region.

by Ron Wiebe, regional communicationscoordinator

Road Runner Winter 2000/01

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Hail to the Chief :

Dirk Nyland, Chief Engineer

Dirk Nyland, for-mer regional

director for theNorthwest Region isstarting a new chap-ter in his career withthe ministry. OnJanuary 2, 2001 Dirkbegan his new roleas the ministry’schief engineer.

Dirk has spent over 27 years with the min-istry. In February 1981, Dirk came to theNorthwest Region to take the position ofregional geotech and materials engineer.

"Actually my first visit to the Northwestwas in October of '80 to have a look atwhat I was getting into," said Dirk. " At thattime Highway 16 between Terrace andPrince Rupert was being re-constructed.Significant portions of the highway werelittle better than a narrow one and a halflanes wedged between the Skeena Riverand the CNR tracks. At one point thehighway narrowed to one lane as trans-port trucks and other vehicles squeezedbetween the supports of a transmissionline tower. There was going to be a lot ofinteresting and challenging work. A fur-ther indication of how interesting thingswere going to be came in early March 1981when Dave St . Thomas, then a head fieldand inspection technician with geo-techgot us lost in a swamp on a trip up theNass to Greenville."

Dirk came to the Northwest from theKamloops area where he had been doinggeotechnical engineering for natural haz-ards, such as the silt bluffs in theOkanagan, and on the new CoquihallaHighway. He found a much different envi-ronment and road conditions in theNorthwest.

"At that time Highway 37N was paved andunder construction from Kitwanga to theold camp at 30 mile (Tsugwinselda Creek)and loosely connected old gravel forestservice roads to north of CranberryJunction. There were mud holes in theCranberry Junction area, with the old roadbeing little more then a wagon road."

recalled Dirk, "Up at the summit north ofMeziadin Junction there were snowbanks15 feet high at the edge of the road."

Dan Doyle was the regional director forthe Northwest region in those years andassigned Dirk the task of stabilizing therock slopes along Highway 16 east andwest of Terrace.

"I was pretty proud of the fact that ourrock crew did such a great job," said Dirk."Rock falls on Highway 16 were virtuallyeliminated."

The fact that Highway 37N has gone from230 kilometres of hard surface to 667 kilo-meteres on the 747-kilometre long high-way is a major achievement that Dirk hasseen during his 20 years in the Northwest.

"Personally, one of the most satisfyingprojects that I've been involved in is theNisga'a negotiations, the friends I made inthe Nass and how much I learned bybeing involved in the treaty negotiationprocess," said Nyland.

The biggest challenge Dirk found in theNorthwest wasn’t the weather or themountainous terrain, but the need to jus-tify projects not on traffic volumes buteconomic development demands and theneed for reliable transportation links forresources.

"I have also taken great pride in seeing mystaff progress up the ranks," said Dirk."People like John Bodnarchuk, now aDHM on the Island, Dave Byng, DHM inCranbrook, and Kevin Higgins, generalmanager of Yellowhead Road & BridgeLtd. in Prince George. Last but by nomeans the least , Dave St .Thomas, whofinally found Greenville and is now theproject manager for the KincolithExtension Project . The most difficult peri-od for me was the deaths of avalanchetechnicians Al Evenchick and Al Munro in1999."

Dirk has some advice for those working inthe Northern Region. "Listen. Get to

Dirk Nyland, chief engineer

groundwater-fed channel within the NaverCreek floodplain designed to providerearing habitat for juvenile chinooksalmon.

The sinuous channel was laid out to con-nect a series of four small ponds and wasexcavated to groundwater depth with agradient down to an existing natural chan-nel leading to the creek mainstem. Thesedesign features will prevent fish frombecoming isolated from the mainstemwhen creek levels drop and will providethe flowing water stimulus that juvenilechinook need before they will move intoan off-channel area.

Channel excavation and placement oflarge organic debris was carried out overfive days in the latter part of Octoberunder the supervision of an EngineeringTechnician and Restoration Biologistfrom DFO. A temporary sandbag damand a series of geotextile sediment con-trol structures were installed at the termi-nus of the excavated channel to preventsediment movement into Naver Creek.The work wrapped up with the applicationof seed, straw mulch and the planting oflive stakes of red osier dogwood, willowand cottonwood. During 2001, the newlycreated channel will be kept isolated fromthe mainstem in order to allow time for avegetative cover to establish and therebyminimize sediment transport into NaverCreek following dam removal. The chan-nel is expected to be available next yearfor juvenile chinook looking for a refugearea where they can conserve energy andavoid being flushed downstream by highflows in Naver Creek.

Something Fishy(cont’d from Page 7)

Terminus of groundwater channel showing thetemporary dam.Continued on page 12

by David Belford, regional communications coordinator

Road Runner Winter 2000/01

11

The last four months have been typically busy ones for theVancouver Island Region. Besides the windup of the con-

struction season and the onset of cold weather, the regionalteam has been putting time into some other tasks. One ofthese involved providing a ministry presence at a Nov. 2 careerfair in School District 68, reaching youth in the area fromLadysmith to Nanaimo.

The morning session of the fair was open to grade seven stu-dents and 1,400 students attended. The afternoon session wasopen to all secondary level students and 800 students attended.Regional staff answered questions and helped students browsethrough a display that included a combination of videos, picturesand a PowerPoint presentation. The same materials were alsoused in the Visions For the Future Conference (a career develop-ment program for First Nations youthon Vancouver Island) where they werealso well received.

Kudos go to the region’s HaroldBoyden, who spearheaded this effortand pulled together a display packagethat the ministry can be proud of.

The PowerPoint presentation is of par-ticular interest as it talks about the var-ious types of careers available to peo-ple who want to work with or on behalfof the ministry. If other ministry staffhave an interest in viewing it , pleasecontact Sandy Hickox atSandy.Hickox@gems7.gov.bc.ca or bytelephone at (250) 390-6120.

Another noteworthy event in the region’s life was the presenta-tion of a certificate of appreciation from Regional DirectorNeville Hope to the region’s survey and design groups. The cer-tificate expresses thanks for the dedication and excellent servicethese two groups have given in meeting project demands overthe past few years. The results of their work have improved traf-fic safety and driving conditions for travellers throughout theisland.

Both groups have done an outstanding job over the past decadein meeting both regional and Vancouver Island Highway projectchallenges. The Mount Washington Roadway and the Duke PointHighway are two projects worth mentioning. Collectively, teammembers have successfully completed nearly 200 Contract forService assignments, while also dedicating a cumulative total of28 person-years of work for the Vancouver Island Highway proj-ect . Achieving this level of excellence consistently over such along period of time is a tribute to good teamwork and dedicationto detail. Congratulations for a job well done!

(Above) Students check outMoTH display at SchoolDistrict 68 career fair.

Regional design team from left to right, TomWight, Carol Hirst, Paula Young, Bob Wylie, DonStarke and Wayne Jentsch.

(Left) Regional survey teamfrom left to right, Barry Fisk,Dave Purvis, NormUrquhart, ken Mackenzie,Bob Reading, Bill Quinn andGeorge Der.

Welcome to "The Rock". A.K.A. Region 6Region 6

by Debra Crozier-Smith, senior communications coordinator

Road Runner Winter 2000/01

12

New Places , New FacesThe following individuals have been confirmed in their new positions to January 11.

EMPLOYEE LOCATION POSITION EFFECTIVEDATE

Darin Barnabe Kootenays Region Financial Officer December 4

Lauren Boucher HQ Finance and Administration Branch Pay Leave Management Clerk October 18

Clara Conti South Coast Region Administrative Assistant January 11

Garth Coward HQ Communications Branch Director, Communications January 8

Patricia Dixon South Coast Region District Clerk December 4

Jamie Duncan HQ Systems Planning & Policy Branch GIS Technician December 4

Tim Dyer Kootenays Region Senior Instrument Person November 20

Russell Fuller HQ Finance and Administration Branch Senior Manager Financial Planning December 12

Maureen Glenn HQ Freedom Of Information Branch Requests Clerk December 8

Randy Grelson Lower Mainland-Howe Sound District Area Manager, Roads November 1

Brad Grunberg Lower Mainland-Howe Sound District Area Manager, Roads November 17

Perry Grunenberg South Coast Region Site Investigations Technician December 4

John Hand Kootenays Region Engineering Assistant Projects January 2

Michelle Hebert Central/North East Region Weed Control Program Coordinator October 30

Andrew Hind South Coast Region Senior Transportation Planning Engineer January 2

Sharlie Huffman HQ Engineering Branch Bridge Seismic Rehabilitation Engineer January 2

Michele Ihas Kootenays Region Regional Financial Clerk October 26

Vicki Ilkka HQ Systems Planning & Policy Branch Secretary November 6

Susan Ingram Thompson-Okanagan Region Regional Management Coord October 30

Brian Jepsen HQ Finance and Administration Branch Assistant Manager Coquihalla Toll Plaza December 20

Tamara Lawes HQ Finance and Administration Branch Budget Analyst January 2

Patrick Livolsi South Coast Region Manager Traffic & Electrical Engineering October 23

Elfi Marsh South Coast Region Secretary, Highway Engineering October 20

Rick Merkel South Coast Region Senior Instrument Person October 24

David Mintak South Coast Region Project Management Technician January 8

Dirk Nyland HQ Engineering Branch Chief Engineer January 2

April Paxton HQ Office Of The Superintendent Team Leader Intake Services December 4

Joe Peterson Lower Mainland-Howe Sound District District Development Technician January 2

April Poffenroth HQ Office of Superintendent Adjudicator January 8

Catherine Porter HQ Planning & Major Projects Manager, Support Services October 23

Shirley Pshyk Okanagan-Shuswap District District Clerk October 24

Daniel Purcell Bulkley Lakes District Snow Avalanche Aide November 6

Janai Smith HQ Finance and Administration Branch Assistant Secretary to Director December 19

Lori Smith HQ Finance and Administration Branch Pay Leave Management Clerk October 18

Dianne Stevens Thompson-Okanagan Region Planning Administrative Assistant November 6

Victoria Stevenson HQ Office Of The Superintendent Finance Clerk January 8

Matthew Tremble HQ Finance and Administration Branch Pay Leave Management Clerk October 23

Dirk Nyland (Cont’d from page10)

know your staff, aboriginal and non-aboriginal community lead-ers on a face-to-face basis. Understand where they are coming fromand empathize with their needs."

"What I will miss most leaving the Northwest is the people...the teamspirit we have in the region." Dirk reflected, "I won't have the same

sort of "hands on" operational challenges which took me down thehighway through the most beautiful scenery in the world. But then,I'll be able to garden year round and only have to shovel my drive-way every leap year"