Back in February, a dozen folks from Tahsis left town with cars full of gravel and shovels. Their mission? To fill some of the potholes on the only road into town.
Jack Taylor was one of those people. “We actually refer to them as craters, not potholes, because they are getting pretty big and numerous,” he told CTV News. He’d broken three springs on his Dodge Ram pickup driving through those craters.
It seems their efforts have shamed the provincial government enough to take some action on the road.
The BC Ministry of Transportation has finally promised to upgrade the gravel road. They’re supposed to start road resurfacing, chip-sealing, and general rehabilitation this summer.
The province is telling folks to expect single-lane traffic during construction. Right now, they have crumbling edges and endless potholes, so single-lane traffic is an improvement.
Spending a chilly afternoon filling potholes takes a lot of community spirit. Shovelling gravel isn’t exactly fun.
But why did it take so long for the government to fix this road?
Tahsis residents have been complaining about the state of the road for years. Increased logging traffic means more wear and tear, and the road is dangerous.
Back in 2019, Lori Bennet lost control trying to avoid a deer and fell 23 metres off a cliff.
“I was absolutely shocked to find that I was okay,” she told CBC News. “We live here because of the beauty and it’s affordable,” she said. “But the road is hazardous.”
The government might say it’s because they don’t know where the money should come from.
Forestry service roads fall under the Ministry of Forests, but the Ministry of Transportation is supposed to keep roads safe for communities.
We promise no one in Tahsis cares about fights between ministries. They just want a safe road to drive on.
