A district operations centre (DOC) has been activated by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure for the Cariboo region in response to road damage brought on by spring freshet.
As of Friday, May 14, over 100 road sites have been impacted in the region.
“The ministry and its maintenance contractors are working as quickly as possible to repair roads impacted by spring flooding and prevent damage in the future,” the ministry noted in an e-mail to Black Press Media Friday, May 14.
“The ministry has activated a district operations centre to fully support this emergency and be ready should conditions worsen.”
Engineers and experts from across the province are being brought in to address the various situations in the Cariboo region.
An additional 79 staff now make up a provincial response team – and contractors are fully deployed across the region.
Callers to the DOC toll-free number 1-844-933-0333 will have the opportunity to speak to a live person, the ministry said.
The toll-free number is staffed by BC Wildfire personnel to answer any questions residents may have, and for them to provide local knowledge.
During the spring freshet, people can go to DriveBC.ca and see a list of Cariboo side roads closed or impacted. The site includes photos and videos of work currently underway to repair roads.
Read more: Spring freshet impacting 90-plus road sites in Cariboo Chilcotin region
If anyone has a question about a particular side road, or a side road they don’t see listed, they can call the toll-free line to ask for more information.
To report a road-related emergency or maintenance concern in the 100 Mile or Williams Lake area, please call Dawson Road maintenance at 1-800-842-4122. For Quesnel the contractor is Emcon Services at 1-866-353-3136.
When asked about the Dog Creek Road area and groundwater issues, the ministry said it will be working closely with other agencies including the Cariboo Regional District regarding hydrotechnical and geotechnical engineering reviews.
“We appreciate the urgency of this situation and will be actioning these reviews immediately,” a ministry spokesperson stated.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story had the incorrect phone number for Emcon services.
