Abstract Manager

In recent years, British Columbia’s Nicola Valley watershed has been severely impacted by flood, fire, and post-wildfire geohazards. Heavy rains and flooding in November 2021 washed out more than 25 sections of Highway 8 leading to the complete closure of the highway between Merritt and Spences Bridge. More than seven kilometers of Highway 8 were completely lost due to the event. The highway reinstatement began by designing and reconstructing a temporary roadway to allow public and resident access, including preparation of roadway design drawings and temporary condition traffic management plans. To review the potential road safety impacts prior to public opening, a Road Safety Audit (RSA) for the temporary reinstatement work was undertaken.

During the first site visit, the RSA team recorded drive-through videos for all accessible sites and took photos (including 360-degree photos) at sites with limited or no vehicular access. The RSA initially focused on those sites with available design drawings, and Traffic Management Plans. The RSA Team undertook a second site visit for walk-throughs of all previously incomplete sites and collected a drive-through video to capture the latest site condition prior to opening of the highway in November 2022. Two RSA reports were issued and submitted for review so that the reinstatement tasks could be continued without any delay when revising the design drawings and roadway construction plans.

In addition to the road safety and traffic operation issues determined for each site, the general road safety issues along the study corridor were identified, including speed management, passing opportunity, active transportation, wildlife encounter, gateway signs, roadside safety, and geohazards. For the individual sites, the potential safety issues included steep cut-slope gradient, inadequate clear zone, reverse curve, missing signage, etc. The proposed design for a two-way single lane bridge was carefully reviewed and feasible safety improvements were also proposed for consideration during the temporary reinstatement work.

The RSA reports were submitted on schedule, and the project was completed in the agreed timeframe. Although the highway remains an active construction zone, Highway 8 between Merritt and Spences Bridge was opened to vehicular traffic with conditions.