Even the longest and biggest loads should be able to fit through a roundabout proposed for the corner of Highway 5 and the road to Wells Gray Park, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
MOTI recognizes the importance of Highway 5 as a route for moving large industrial loads in support of economic development in B.C. and throughout the western provinces, a statement from the ministry states.
The conceptual design was based on an engineering template for intersections of this type, used across Canada and North America. Using software which tracks the path of wheels and turning movements for commercial vehicles, the ministry checked that all normal large commercial vehicles using the highway could pass through the intersection, in any possible direction. This includes buses, logging trucks and tractor-trailer units.
Staff from the ministry met with the British Columbia Trucking Association and its Heavy Haul Sector Committee in November of last year to review the latest version of the roundabout design, the wheel path tracking drawings and to discuss the needs of industry to facilitate movement of extraordinary loads on Highway 5.
After this review, the Heavy Haul Committee presented the ministry with additional configurations that might be used in the next few years for hauling extraordinary loads. Some of these units measure 60 meters long and haul loads up to six meters wide. In response to the input from the meeting, the design was revised to ensure all submitted configurations could maneuver through the roundabout.
After reviewing our revised design, the ministry has received favorable feedback from the BCTA.
Graphics from MOTI shows the revised design plus the wheel path tracking drawing of a 14-axle dual lane loader heavy haul vehicle.
A photo from the ministry shows what a 14-axle dual lane loader heavy haul vehicle looks like. This vehicle is 60 m long and 6.1 m wide. The ministry notes that, if such a large vehicle can get through the roundabout, normal passenger vehicles and regular commercial vehicles should have no issues navigating through it. To compare, the length of a loaded logging truck is 23 meters, less than half of this dual lane loader.
