Improvements are rumbling on down some local highways.
Work is underway to install 240 kilometres of rumble strips across the Southern Interior to improve motorist safety.
Local routes include: Highway 6 – Lumby East and Highway 97 – Pinaus Lake Road to Falkland Bridge.
“Statistics prove that rumble strips reduce the number of collisions on our roads and lessen the severity of collisions that do happen,” said Blair Lekstrom, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. “This simple solution saves lives and makes travel on our highways safer for everyone.”
Dunwell Landscaping was awarded a $161,000 contract to carry out the work, which is expected to finish in October. The contract will include the installation of centreline and shoulder rumble strips along 12 different highways throughout the Southern Interior.
The project is cost-shared between the province and ICBC.
Rumble strips have been proven to significantly reduce the number and severity of collisions on highways by warning drivers that they are wandering out of the driving lanes. Studies have shown an overall 18 per-cent reduction in all crashes resulting in injury on B.C. highways with rumble strips.
“Road safety is a key priority for this government; that includes on-going investments that improve our roads including rumble strips,” said Shirley Bond, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. “We want to enhance road safety and reduce accidents and injury and rumble strips have been a practical and affordable way to help achieve those goals. In fact statistics tell us that on highways that have had rumble strips installed there have been significantly fewer crashes.”
B.C. began applying rumble strips to highways in 2004. There are now more than 5,100 kilometres of rumble strips on B.C. highways.
Rumble strips applied on the centre line show a 29 per cent reduction in off-road left and head on collisions on two-lane undivided rural highways in B.C.
Applied on the shoulder, rumble strips show a 22 per cent reduction for off-road right collisions on two- and four-lane rural highways in B.C.
