Several load restrictions are in place for the Cariboo-Chilcotin as spring begins to unfold.
All side roads paved or gravel within the Central and North Cariboo are restricted to 70 per cent legal axle loading from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. with the Horsefly Woodjam Road restricted to 50 per cent legal axle loading.
For the South Cariboo provincial side road legal axle loading limits are limited to 70 per cent from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. effective 10 p.m. Tuesday March 8.
Tim Menning, owner of Hytest Timber in Williams Lake, has been in the business 45 years locally and said the timing for the 70 per cent load restriction is typical.
“They put the restrictions in place to avoid pounding the road when they are thawing,” he said. “We’re confining our trucks to that to try and accommodate the requirements.”
Menning said road restrictions have gone into effect as early as Feb. 1 in the past so making it until the first of March in 2021 was positive.
It’s about common sense, he added, noting even if it rains at night and the ground hasn’t frozen, the drivers hold off until the roads tighten up.
There is a lot of moisture in the ground already from last year, but Menning said he is hopeful that flooding won’t be as it was last year because the snow belt is not ‘excessively’ high this year.
“We had a long continuous cold weather last year which was good for us for hauling, but what it did was it delayed the freshet until it came all at once and overwhelmed the systems’ ability to handle all the water.”
Up-to-date restrictions can be found on the government website.
Read more: CRD seeks meeting with MoTI ahead of spring freshet
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